The Power of Belief
by quickassilver
Summary: Luna perspective canon through Order of the Phoenix, picks up a month after the battle at the Ministry. While Luna is still Luna I have her show her grounded side earlier as opposed to waiting until seventh year. Starts out by giving Harry a much-needed reality check and some of her Ravenclaw wisdom. As they grow closer the times grow darker. Can their budding relationship hold?
1. Chapter 1: Taking Stock

Chapter 1: Taking Stock

It had been a long month since the battle in the department of mysteries, and even outside Ottery St. Catchpole you could feel the gathering and impact of dark forces at work. She was acutely aware of how it impacted not only humans but also the smaller wildlife that would roam through their gardens and wooded areas near where their rook home was located. Usually they would be playful and a tiny bit shy whereas now...well, they were skittish and scared instead of merely being cautious. Seeing innocent creatures behaving like that it made her angry. Before now, the only thing she'd truly been angry about was not having her mother to talk to. However, she had died in an accident so there was no direction for that anger to focus on...so with time she had learned to cope. This was different, there were people living to be held responsible and accountable for their actions. She didn't want them to be jailed, with this new anger inside of her she wanted to see them hurt like all of their victims. A darker side of her didn't want to stop at that, if pressed she would admit to wanting to see some of them killed as well. _Maybe with Harry and the rest of the DA we can make a real difference. This was isn't just for the adults, it belongs to all of us now._ The thought was enough to bring a small, slightly threatening smile as she bared her teeth a bit. When the time was right she knew that they could make a difference if they stuck together.

A twig snapping brought her out of the slightly dark but comforting thoughts and she drew her wand with a quick motion. "Who's there?" she called out, scanning the area for movement. Luna's blue eyes might be a bit dreamy most of the time, but they were piercing as she looked for signs of danger. The recent battle had taught her the valuable lesson of always being aware of one's surroundings. It had come from the direction of The Burrow but she hadn't scheduled a meeting with Ginny for today. A flash of red hair made her smile but she didn't lower her wand quite yet, not after what they'd all been through at the Ministry of Magic. Soon Ginny crested the hill she'd been climbing in full and it certainly appeared to be her friend. "If you're really Ginny Weasley, what did I get you for your last birthday?" she asked, eyes narrowing as she prepared to read her features to see if she was struggling with it. She had gotten her a rather unusual gift, so she was almost certain the real Ginny would recall instantly.

Ginny just rolled her eyes and let out an easy laugh, shaking her head. "I believe it was a series of short stories you wrote and illustrated yourself about all the creatures you and your dad go hunting for. It was titled The Adventures and Misadventures of Hidden Beings. My favorite was the one about how a snorkack got lost and had to acquire the help of a djinn to find his way home." she told her, grinning. "I know you haven't decided what you want to do yet, but you're a great writer. I'm sure lots of kids and even some adults would appreciate a book like that being made available to them." she complimented. It was a nice thing of her friend to say and Luna nodded, lowering her wand.

"I have given that some thought Ginny, but, until the Death Eaters and the...thing that leads them are taken care of, I don't think I'll be able to move on. We got lucky that the Order figured out where we were in time, by all rights we should have died that night at the Ministry." Luna said seriously, before shaking her head. Luna's usual dreamy-eyed stare appeared as she produced a pair of dirigible plum earrings that matched the ones she wore. "Ginny, I...I made these for you. Dirigible plums are known for elevating one's state of mind. In addition to that, they help you to accept the extraordinary and seemingly unbelievable. According to a great fictional detective by the name of Sherlock Holmes, 'when you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth'. I hope you find them helpful." she explained, holding them out to her. Her dreamy looks were intentional, ever since her mother died they had been her go-to defense mechanism for getting people to leave her be so she could think and sort through emotions. She was far from crazy, and the Loony Lovegood insult was a painful cross to bear. On the other hand, it gave her space from her house to study or simply have some time alone and unbothered by people who would never understand her. Ginny tried her best to, and for that she'd always been grateful. To be honest, she had gotten used to being self-reliant for the most part and not having many friends had never really bothered her. Now that she was starting to make some though, even she could appreciate how great having a few people to count on could be.

Carefully taking them from her blonde friend, Ginny swapped them out with the broomstick earrings she'd been wearing before and gave her a brief but firm hug. "Thanks Luna, I'd be honored to wear them. You're the only girl contact I have around here that isn't mum, and...well you've always been one of my closest friends. I'm just sorry that we're not in the same house, but like most of us Weasleys I'm a Gryffindor through and through." she admitted with a 'what can you do' shrug, a small chuckle escaping. "As much as I do love to visit you for fun I did come with news this time. Harry is already with us at the burrow and according to him Snape is being kicked from Potions to Defense Against the Dark Arts. I, well I overheard him and Ron talking about it. Apparently Dumbledore made Harry help him recruit some former potions master named Slughorn." she admitted a little sheepishly, while she might not have felt guilty about eavesdropping and eager to share the news she wasn't exactly proud of that habit. "A former Death Eater who hates Harry is teaching us how to defend ourselves against other Death Eaters when a war has broken out!" she yelled angrily, before returning to a lower volume. "It's said You-Know-Who himself killed the head of the DMLE Amelia Bones, a member of the order was killed named Emmaline Vance, and they are making blatantly obvious attacks against muggles in plain sight. This new minister Rufus Scrimgeour is trying to crack down, but they're losing and fast. I just...I'm not sure Harry's ready, and Dumbledore has to protect Hogwarts in addition to everything else he does for our side." she said, her speech finally stopping as she vented everything she'd been carrying on her chest recently to her friend.

Ginny took a few moments to catch her breath before continuing and not really allowing Luna a chance to respond. "This is finally starting to genuinely scare me, Luna, but I also want to help end it. How, though? How can two girls like us help in a war? That's what this is now there's no doubt about it." she said, looking to her for answers, confirmation, assistance, anything she had to give. Her friend clearly wanted her to reassure her of things, and she wondered what she could say that would actually give her friend some hope in a dark time like this.

Instead of answering her directly she closed her eyes and thought about the love she had for her family, her friends, even the bullies who tormented her because they were just lashing out. She thought about all of the kindness that people showed to her each other, and how parents would do anything to cheer up and protect their children because they cared for them so deeply. Lastly she thought about the DA, and the friendships they had all made over the past year. The happiness they had all gotten from working together towards threatening to spill out of her she opened her eyes and spoke firmly, "Expecto Patronum." Without a moment's hesitation, the hare patronus leapt from her wand and started to circle them, eventually nestling between the two of them and simply looking at them and hopping from time to time. "We love each other, we defend each other, and we don't lose hope. That's the only way they can win...is if they make us all so afraid we lose the hope of a better future. If you can't imagine a brighter tomorrow it will never come, Gin. I've seen Harry and so have you, he can do this. Our job is to give him the time to grow, to make sure he knows we all fight with him and that he will never be alone." she told her, her slightly silvery blue eyes going hard as ice. She reached over and grabbed her hand firmly, giving it a squeeze as she let her hare dissipate. "All we have to do is fight, and keep fighting. I'm scared too, but I'm also angry...oh, so angry. They're trying to scare us into submission and I won't have it. My life is mine to live and nobody can take that away from me, don't let them take yours away with the fear and their threats they always make." she advised her friend.

The Patronus had helped ease her fears some, but it was the wise words from a girl who hid behind the imaginary that actually comforted her. Ginny squeezed her hand back hard, giving her a firm nod. "It always baffles me how some people don't think you deserve to be in Ravenclaw. There are times I think you even understand more than Dumbledore, Luna." she told her with a wink before hopping up. "I need to get back before mum comes looking, but I wanted to invite you to Harry's birthday party. It's on the 31st and I know he would love to have you there with us." she told her, giving her a hopeful look. "I want it to be a surprise for him, so I haven't told Mum or anybody. Somehow I doubt they'll mind though, so what do you say?"

Luna had a faint blush on her cheeks when Ginny told her that she thought she understood more than Dumbledore. "Well, I don't know if I'd go that far, but I appreciate the sentiment." she told her honestly. The old headmaster always seemed to know what was going on, sometimes even what people were thinking. While some might try and accuse him of using Legilimency to accomplish that feat she thought it was more that he had a keen understanding of humanity that most people didn't. He had lived through dark times and faced things most people could scarcely imagine, and had survived it all. If there was one person she respected as much as Harry, it would have to be him. "So it would be a surprise, where do you think I should hide? I think daddy could cast a disillusionment charm on me or teach me how if I ask him." she said, thinking about it. If she could get the drop on the defense genius and make him let out a scream she would count that as a successful appearance. Technically, she wasn't supposed to be using magic outside of school. However, a lot of the wizarding families let their children practice so as not to get too rusty over the holidays. They could only detect when and where magic was cast, not who cast the spell. Harry had been the victim of that in his second year when he got blamed for a house-elf's use of a levitation charm on a cake.

"I think that would be perfect. So you're in?" Ginny asked her bluntly, a mischievous grin appearing as she imagined the look on Harry's face. "If we pull this off right it will be brilliant, maybe we could start our own prank business at Hogwarts now that Fred and George are gone too. Someone has to fill the void." she said, making Luna ponder that idea. As long as they made sure none of the pranks were dangerous she thought that becoming a terrific troublemaking team could be quite fun.

Without hesitation she nodded. "Oh, I'm definitely in for surprising Harry. As for the other matter...I'll give it some thought and get back to you. We couldn't fill their shoes, but maybe we could make our own style of pranking. Between the two of us I know we can do the Weasley pranking name justice. What should our title be?" Luna asked. If they couldn't come up with a name worthy of their efforts than it wouldn't be nearly as much fun. Perhaps they could leave calling cards at the scene of their pranking crimes.

Considering that for a moment, Ginny shrugged. "I don't know, maybe...the Dirigible Duo? We do match, now." she pointed out as she gave one of her little dirigible plum earrings a flick with her finger. The way it set to bouncing and catching the light made her giggle and Luna couldn't help but think that would be fitting. A lot of students liked to make fun of the earrings, calling them radishes or carrots, but the joke was one them. Even discounting the fact that they helped open up the mind to possibility, the earrings looked pretty cool in her opinion.

"Works for me, I'll see you at Harry's birthday party. I'll be hiding in the garden so just make sure you toss the gnomes out before the party or they might accidentally bump into me and give me away." Luna suggested as she stood up, getting ready to go back inside. Harry was one of the few people aside from Ginny who had always been kind to her when given the chance. He was busy, and usually had Ron and Hermione with him going on their 'golden trio' quests; but, she did appreciate what help he did give. Not the least of which being how he stepped up and taught Defense Against the Dark Arts on his own with Dumbledore's Army. That had earned him her respect, because basic self-defense is something nobody should be without. As she thought about that, she slipped her hand into a pocket and fingered the fake galleon that Harry had used to set the dates of their Dumbledore's Army meetings. . It had been quiet for a while, but she still kept it on her in case he decided to set a date to meet up when they went back to school. She really hoped that he did, because she didn't really trust Snape to teach them useful material.

"Sure thing, I'll see you soon, Luna." Ginny said, before taking off at a brisk walk back towards the Burrow. Whenever she decided to pop up or go home Ginny always moved quickly, like she couldn't wait to move to doing whatever was next on her list. Not everybody had a drive like that to always be doing, working, learning, and it was something she thought both her and Ginny shared. There was always more to learn, things to practice and get better at, and only a small amount of time that was their own to do it in.

* * *

`(OvO)´

Luna watched her go over and down a few of the hills before smiling to herself and heading back inside. She went to where her daddy was working on the newspaper and gave his robes a gentle tug to get his attention. The printer was running so she wasn't sure if he would have heard her otherwise. His candy-floss hair was well-brushed and his robes were clean in spite of him working on his newspaper. The only things that was a bit messy were his ink-stained fingers. The Quibbler was something he'd done for years and was well-practiced at keeping everything running like a well-oiled machine.

Xenophilius Lovegood was fairly engrossed in what he was doing, and she startled him out of his work. He turned off the press to look at the best part of his life, his amazing daughter. "Yes, dear?" he asked, curious as to what she wanted. Usually she wouldn't bother him while he was busy like that unless it was important to her. He loved his paper, but his daughter's needs always far outweighed that of his job in terms of importance so he gave her his full attention.

"Can you teach me the disillusionment charm by July 31st, or cast it on me if I can't learn it by then. Ginny and I decided that I would make a good surprise guest for Harry's sixteenth birthday party." she explained, giving him her best puppy dog eyes. "Please, I know he'll get a kick out of it if we do it." Luna was all too aware of the advantage she had of being an only child. She didn't manipulate her daddy too often, but usually when she did she was able to get her way with what she wanted.

Xenophilius looked at her and scratched his chin in thought as he mulled it over. He didn't have anything against the surprise guest idea, but the Disillusionment Charm was a tricky one. "Well, you should be learning this charm in fifth year anyways for your O. W. L.'s so I suppose it couldn't hurt. Also it doesn't make you invisible, it changes your body's coloring to match your surroundings. If you don't have it down by then I'll cast it on you, deal?" he asked.

Luna gave a nod of excitement and reached up on her tippy-toes to give him a peck on the cheek. "Sounds perfect, let me know when you want to start. I'll be in my room working on a gift for the party." she said, before darting off like a shot and disappearing from his line of sight. Getting out a box that contained what looked like random materials to the untrained eye, she got down to business on crafting a Harry Potter worthy present. While he might not think things like birthdays were a big deal, all of his friends certainly did and they wanted to make sure he had a good time. After all, if anybody deserved it Harry did...especially with everything that was going on right now.


	2. Chapter 2: Seeker and Snitch

Chapter 2: Seeker and Snitch

Luna had finished her gift for Harry's party and was now had the equally challenging task of deciding what to wear. Ginny had let her know via owl that Harry's birthday cake was going to look like a Quidditch PItch, so she wanted something with maybe a little bit of a gold sparkle since he was a seeker. The problem was that she didn't have any dresses that had that quality she was searching for. After thinking about the matter for a few more minutes she remembered a pair of delicate broomstick earrings that had gold for the handle instead of wood like real brooms. When she thought of them she remembered why she didn't wear them often, they had been her mother's. Since her death she had only wore them once, and that was at her funeral. Thinking about her mum wearing them brought a few tears to her eyes. She would always miss her, but she was glad that at least her mom had died doing something she loved inside her own home. It was a small comfort, but one she held onto fiercely. Hopping off her bed, she went down to talk to daddy about borrowing them for the party. A lot of time had passed since her mum died, and she was fairly sure he wouldn't mind her borrowing them too much. They would both always miss her, but that didn't mean they had to stop living their lives.

Normally when she wanted something from him she would give him a hug and tell him how much she loved him, because it was effective and also very true. However, this was a matter that needed to be handled with more care. Luna only knew her mum for a relatively short period of time before she had passed away, and even though she loved her quite a lot she was well aware it paled in comparison to how much her daddy cared for her. Walking down the stairs she found him preparing his gurdyroot infusion that the two of them drank. It didn't have the best taste, but she knew it was good for her so always drank it down. "Hi daddy. Umm, I know this is a touchy subject but I had a favor to ask of you." she said, taking her cup of the gurdyroot drink when he handed it over and taking a good-sized gulp before waiting to hear what he said.

"A favor about a touchy subject, is it?" Xenophilius Lovegood asked, eyes narrowing as he tried to piece together what that could be. When he looked closer he noticed a bit of a tear track she hadn't quite rubbed away completely and slightly red eyes. "Oh, Luna dear...this is about your mum, isn't it?" he asked, opening his arms. "Come here, and give me a hug. You can ask me anything dear, I love you and I would never hold it against you." he assured her.

Luna blinked in surprise at how quickly he guessed oddly close to the mark, but quickly recovered. She was more than happy to go and give him a tight hug, Merlin knew she needed one badly. "I miss her so much. People say time is the greatest healer, but there's still a gaping hole where she used to be. You do a great job, it's just...sometimes a girl needs her mum." she said, breaking down into tears again. Every once in a while it felt good to have a cry about things, and she knew that holding it in didn't do anybody any good so she let it out. This was a safe place, here at home.

It took a few minutes before Luna calmed down enough to talk, and by then Xeno was in tears as well. Both felt a little better afterwards, though, and were grateful to have the support of someone they knew loved the other unconditionally. Often times they were both a bit of a mess, but they were a mess together and that made all the difference. She took a few deep breaths before standing up and letting out a laugh. "We're both a right mess, but I'm glad we're in it together. Now for my question...I-I was hoping to borrow mum's broomstick earrings for Harry's party. The ones that have the gold instead of wood. Ginny said they're doing a Quidditch themed cake for him, and I just thought that it would make my outfit pop. Plus Harry's a seeker, and I could of wanted something that would remind him of a snitch." she said, looking down at her feet. "If you don't want me to wear them I understand, I just wanted to ask." Luna told him quietly.

The response wasn't long in coming, and she felt her father's hand lifting her chin so she had to look up at him. He met her eyes before giving her a wink and a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Oh Luna, of course you can borrow them. Yes, they're quite special; but, both your mum and I would agree that they are better off being worn by her daughter than sitting in a box and never being used. You can keep them if you like even after the party, I really don't mind. Wait here and I'll grab them." he said, before going to retrieve the earrings. His words had her letting out a sigh of relief and she nodded happily, glad he wasn't too upset that she had asked to borrow something of hers.

Luna was beaming when he came back with them and gave him another big hug around the waist. "Thank you so much, daddy. I know everybody's going to love them, even if not quite as much as we do. Also, thanks for the help with the disillusionment charm, there was no way I could've learned it in time without the help. That runny egg feeling is so weird to get used to, but I think I finally have it down pat. They'll never know what hit them." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek before running up to her room to pick out a dress.

Now that she had the earrings to plan off of, it made finding a dress she liked to go with much easier. After some careful thought she pulled out a brown skirt that had a gold trim pattern at the bottom, a turquoise top, and a white cardigan to wear over it in case she stayed late and it started to cool off. It had enough gold to highlight the earrings, but wasn't too over the top. Smiling as she imagined the looks of surprise on all her friends' faces save Ginny, she got dressed and grabbed her carefully wrapped present before heading downstairs. "Bye daddy, I'll see you when I get back later." she said, before quickly heading out the door.

Xenophilius looked up when she was on her way out, smiling at her. It was clear that she was rather excited about the party and he was glad to see her having fun with her friends. "Remember to stay hidden, your disillusionment charm is good but it isn't perfect and sunlight tends to give it away even if you did it properly. You're not invisible, you're just camouflaged so you'll still have a shadow." he reminded her, calling after her before finishing the rest of his gurdyroot drink.

It was only when she stepped outside that she took the earrings and carefully put them in. Somehow it felt like they were heavier than they should be, almost like the weight of her mum's memories she'd made while wearing them had a tangible presence. That thought was nearly enough to make her turn back around, take them off, and cry on her bed until she could cry no more tears. Instead, she straightened her shoulders and forced her chin up. "I love you mum, and I won't let you being gone stop me from being the daughter you raised me to be. Strong, smart, and fearless is what you always said. I do my best to live up to that." she said to herself, before casting the disillusionment charm on herself and walking towards The Burrow. Remembering her father's advice, she tried to stick to the trees and their shadows on her way over so that no blurry shadows appeared behind her that would get her caught before the surprise.

* * *

`(OvO)´

Since she was carrying a birthday present, Ginny and her had prearranged for her to leave it at a specific tree so the present wouldn't give her away. Once she laid the gift down, she should be camouflaged save for a bit of a shadow that should be difficult to notice. All she had to do was get out of the sun and she would be in the clear unless somebody was combing the area and bumped into her by accident. She was light on her feet though and had worn practical sneakers for this endeavor, and quickly made her way to the garden where she had planned to hide until she gave them all a surprise. If somebody were to cast a homenum revelio she would be revealed, but there should be no reason to do so at a birthday party for a good friend of the family. After all, aside from death eaters who would want to interrupt the Boy-Who-Lived's birthday. It was a bit of a sobering thought, reminding her of her anger towards them and their leader. Luna forced herself to close her eyes and take deep breaths until she calmed down, and decided to lie down for a while and simply bask in the summer sunshine while she waited for the right moment to appear.

It wasn't until she woke up from a nap that she realized she'd accidentally fallen asleep in the first place. If she'd fallen asleep that meant her spell must've failed, and she scrambled for her wand to recast it. Luckily for her she had fallen asleep between some of the bushes in the Weasleys' garden and nobody had immediately seen her. Before she could find her wand to recast the spell though, two sets of identical length shadows appeared above her. "Well, well, well, Fred. It would seem we have a party crasher here for our ickle Harrikins' birthday bash." one of the twins, presumably George said. Luna let out a groan and immediately cast a silencing charm so nobody would hear them talking.

Of course it would be the twins who caught her out, and she shot them a look. "I'll have you know that I was invited by your sister. It was meant to be a surprise, and since Harry wasn't the one who caught me napping in your garden, it still can be. Please don't tell anyone." she said, looking from one to the other. "Look, I'll make a deal. If I get a promise that you won't spoil the surprise, I'll owe you a favor. No matter what the favor is, as long as it doesn't involve harming somebody my considerable talent is at your disposal." she offered, crossing her arms. "Well, boys, what'll it be?" Luna asked them. The twins had known her long enough to know that a favor from her was no meager offer and she hoped that would be enough to keep them from ratting her out.

The twins looked at each other, some form of silent communication passing between them. This time it was the twin on the left, Fred who spoke up. "I speak for both George and myself when I say those terms are agreeable. You're one of the only true Ravenclaws out there, and have enough courage to be in our house as well. We would be honored to get a favor from you, Lady Lovegood." he said, giving her a small bow that George mirrored. "You're a good friend to ickle Harrikins. Anything that can help him have a better birthday is fine with us. Continue with the hiding, Luna." Fred told her with a wink before they both walked away. "At least we finally know why Ginny was so adamant on clearing those gnomes yesterday and this morning." he said to his twin, both laughing as they went back inside The Burrow.

As she watched them disappear a quiet sigh of relief escaped despite her trying to contain it. "That was too close, I need to be more vigilant." she chided herself. Luna decided to simply sit, watch, and listen to her surroundings after casting the disillusionment charm once again. About a half hour later the setup began and soon after that the party was underway. Both her and Ginny had agreed that the best time for her to make an appearance was when he was blowing out his candles. When he was closing his eyes to make his wish she would reveal herself, and then he would have one more friend to celebrate with. She just hoped Mrs. Weasley wouldn't be too upset about it, because that was definitely where Ginny had gotten her temper from. Anybody who met Arthur Weasley could tell instantly he was a gentle soul, not weak but strong in a different sort of way.

While she watched the Weasleys and Harry she could tell that while people were still a bit nervous about what was happening with the world at large they also knew how to focus on the present and have fun. There were plenty of smiles and laughter, some due to the twins' antics but also from general conversation and the odd jokes thrown in. It was nice to see that even though he didn't have a family of his own (well, that he liked), she corrected in her head, that he was certainly not without a surrogate family. One other thing she noticed was that both Mrs. Weasley and Ginny did not seem happy with the engagement of Fleur and Bill. They didn't make it overtly obvious, but she noticed some mumbled remarks after having to talk to her she was sure weren't too kind. Plus one time when Ginny passed her a food item she was sure she saw her friend elbow her, which wasn't really like her at all. _Do they think he's bewitched and not making his own choices? She is part veela, but...he looks perfectly normal. _She hadn't seen a lot of Bill growing up but from time to time she'd met and talked to all of the Weasleys since they lived so close. Percy had always rubbed her the wrong way because he was a tad full of himself, but he'd never been mean to her or anything like that. It was while she was thinking about those things that another unexpected guest at the party chose to make their arrival.

Remus Lupin, who had hands-down been their best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher by far came rushing into the party, a little out of breath. Before anybody could ask what the matter was he raised up his hands and straightened up. "Just give me a moment, and I'll explain." he said, getting himself a drink before finding a chair for himself. "Alright, sorry about that delay I was in a rush to get over here. Happy birthday by the way, Harry." he told him with a wink. "We've just gotten news that Igor Karkaroff has been murdered, and because he snitched on as many as he could we are assuming it was done by the Death Eaters. On top of that, dementor attacks are increasing all over the place so make sure to keep practicing your Patronus charms and keep a bit of chocolate on you to help if the need arises. It warms my heart to say that you lot are in much better spirits tonight than I'd expected, so please...we can talk about more news another day don't let me interrupt the young man's birthday." Remus told them all with a smile, before placing his own present on top of the pile.

It seemed that in spite of Remus' advice to hold off talk about the Death Eaters and Voldemort that Bill simply couldn't help himself and chimed in. "I heard that they got Florean Fortescue. An ice cream maker of all people, it's ridiculous. Shops are closing all over Diagon Alley. I don't know why they would take him, other than the fact that he makes people happy." he said with a shrug. Remus grimaced but didn't stop it. It wasn't his place to chide Bill, and he knew he had inadvertently gotten the ball rolling as it were.

Molly looked over at him with a sharp look, though. "Enough of that Bill, we're here to celebrate not speak of the doom and gloom being caused. Having a nice night like this is more important for everyone's morale than you realize." she said, dishing Remus up a plate of food and passing it over. "Eat up now, dear, you always look so thin." she said, unable to stop herself from mothering him a bit. It happened without her even thinking after raising so many children. Remus took the plate of food and the chiding with a good-natured smile and dutifully dug in.

"While I do agree with Molly that this should be the last talk about what's going on, I do have one more piece of news that I feel is important to share. We've all met him at least once, the old wandmaker Ollivander has disappeared. He's not the type to hide in the shadows, he never did during the first war. We suspect foul play. The only thing we don't know is why Voldemort wants him, he loves the wand he already has. Dumbledore says it's because of the Priori Incantatem thing that happened with Harry during the battle at the graveyard, but why not just borrow a Death Eater's wand and leave it at that?" he asked them, shrugging. Everybody froze upon hearing that Ollivander had been taken, because many suspected him to be far more powerful than people realized. Nobody could say how old he really was for one thing, not to mention his uncanny ability to read people's personality types and pair them with a fitting wand. He was a bit of a mystery, but for them to target him specifically they would probably need more of a reason than just that.

Before anybody could comment on Ollivander's disappearance and really get talking Molly shushed the lot of them and brought out the birthday cake. "Enough of that, we can discuss all of this another day. It's time we got the cake sliced and after that we can do presents." she said, setting down a large oval cake that really did look like a\Quidditch Pitch. There were carefully molded thin milk chocolates to make the hoops at either end, green frosting to make the pitch with white frosting for the marked lines. For the sand around the hoops there were two identical heaps of crushed graham crackers. The stands had been the trickiest part, and she had eventually settled on using chocolate covered pretzels, slowly assembling it to make sure the structure didn't fall over. In gold icing on the grass was written, 'Happy 16th, Harry! Our favorite seeker!' She placed 16 candles carefully into the cake, and lit them up with a wave of her wand. "Time to sing, everyone."

As the happy birthday song got underway, Luna grinned wolfishly and slowly crept closer and closer to the party. There wasn't an opening at the table because there was such a good turnout, so she decided to stand a couple feet back from the group but directly across from Harry so he would see her when he looked up from blowing out the candles. She got into place without being noticed and by then the song was over. Harry closed his eyes to focus on making his wish and she let her disillusionment charm fall away, and when he blew the candles out she smiled. She'd done it, her and Ginny had snuck her in without her being noticed by Harry. Not a total success because of the nap she'd taken and the twins spying her out, but still not too shabby. As he started to look up she let out a yell. "Surprise!" She did a little twirl to make her skirt flare out beautifully and simply beamed at the lot of them.

However, the reaction wasn't what she was expecting. Everybody except Harry and Ginny had turned on her with wands drawn at the yell of surprise. Hermione let out a gasp and put her hand over her mouth when she realized who it was, wand being repocketed instantly. Remus took charge of the situation though, coming over to her with a sense of purpose in his stride. "Do not lower your wands, not yet. Luna...I need to ask you a question to prove your identity. What was the first creature I taught your class about in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" he asked.

Luna thought about the matter, mind reeling as she hadn't thought about her surprise being received like this at all. She was shocked by the reaction she'd gotten from people she considered friends but she knew they had to be careful. A dreamy look appeared on her face as she tried to think back that for before she smiled and snapped her fingers with a grin. "I remember now, you taught us about Augureys, also known as the Irish Phoenix. You told us that they were often used to predict the weather and are rather accurate to boot" she told him, proud that she managed to remember something from nearly three years ago.

"Indeed I did, sorry about the rough welcome but we had to be sure. Constant vigilance! That was drilled into me by the real Mad-Eye." he admitted, before returning to his seat and motioning the others to do the same. Seeing no other reason to really question it, the others followed his lead and sat back down.

Harry looked surprised but happy to see her, and Ginny mouthed a small sorry when she gave the rest of the group a scan. Luna merely waved it off and went up to Mrs. Weasley. "I'm sorry that I made everyone jump, Mrs. Weasley. Ginny and I had planned it as a surprise, we didn't really think about how everyone is so on edge at the moment. Is it okay if I join?" she asked. To be honest, at this point she was a little worried she might just get kicked out and sent home. While she would understand them doing that, she knew it would be rather disappointing after going to all the work of practicing and learning the disillusionment charm to pull this off. She was only trying to celebrate a birthday with one of her good friends after all, was that so wrong?

Molly could tell that Harry was happy she was there, though; and, even if Luna was a little strange she had always been a great friend to Ginny and a sweet girl. "Oh, it's alright dear, nobody can predict everything that happens. Come, have a slice of cake. We need to get those candles out before wax starts dripping all over." she said, barking out orders and giving her a smile since she could see the girl was a little nervous after what had just happened. Luna might not have spent as much time as Harry had with them recently but she was still a rather good friend of the family, and it's not like they were all perfect either.

The candles were soon out and the cake cut and dished out to all. Luna found a spot to sit next to Ginny after some shifting around, and before you could say snitch they were onto the presents. There were some nice gifts, but nothing like what she had made for him and she really hoped he liked it. Hers was the second-to-last one to be opened, and her fingers twisted in her dress a little as she waited nervously to see his expression. She hoped it wasn't too sad of a gift to think about, because they were hand-made picture frames. She'd made two frames that had room for multiple photos in each of various sizes, one with Harry's and his parents' initials, and another with the initials of the group that had went to the Ministry with him recently. She didn't know if he had pictures of their group yet, but she was hoping maybe somebody could loan them a camera sometime so they could take some. Her real fear was that he would think about all that he'd missed out on with his parents, she'd had her mum long enough to remember her. If the rumors she'd heard about the Dementor attacks in third year were real, than the only memory he had was of his mum screaming and then being killed by Voldemort. That thought alone without even the memory to accompany it was enough to make her shudder, and made her worry even more about the gamble of a gift she'd made.

When Harry saw the picture frames he simply stared at them, head cocked curiously to the side as he saw how the edges of where each picture would go had initials made out of a thin metal she had carefully decorated with gold paint. On one of the frame groups it was HP, JP, and LP repeating over and over, and on the other it was HP, GW, LL, NL, RW, and HG. It was all carefully fixed together and was made of thin iron so it should last over time, the gold was just to cover it and make it look pretty. A few tears started to fall down his face and Luna's face fell, sure she'd ruined the party with an ill-thought out gift. A tear started to run down her own face and she was getting ready to run away when Harry final spoke, his voice thick with emotion. "Oh, Luna...this is perfect. Thank you, I...there are no words." he said, causing her to stop and turn to look at him.

It was clear when she met his eyes that he was being honest. Yes, he was sad when he thought about what had happened to his parents but he was brave enough to want to remember them anyways. She smiled a little and nodded, wiping off a few more tears from her eyes that were threatening to spill over. "You're welcome, Harry. I didn't have enough money saved to get you a camera so we could take some of our battle group. But, I thought maybe we could borrow one or something like that before you find one of your own. Happy birthday, Harry." she said, resuming her seat. She was glad that he had really liked her gift. Harry was the type of person that gave a lot to people without any expectation of getting something back in return, which was part of the reason people liked and respected him so much.

Harry finished opening the last of his gifts before the party started to die down, and she found Ginny. She gave her a quick hug before letting go, knowing she needed to head back soon before her daddy started to worry too much. Ginny spoke up before she was out of earshot. "Hey Luna, those earrings look great on you. With that homemade gift too, I think you may have just caught our seeker's eye." she told her with a wink, making Luna blush a pretty pink. She was surprised by Ginny's comment, because it didn't sound like she was jealous like she had expected she would be about something like that.

"Oh, quiet. Don't just go calling out stuff like that." she said, before giggling and hurrying off towards home. Ginny and her had of course talked at length when they were little about the amazing Boy-Who-Lived. Ginny had more of a crush on him back then, but after they'd gotten to Hogwarts it had changed. Harry had done a daring rescue to save her from a terrible fate in the Chamber of Secrets. Her strange fascination had turned into a full-on crush. Harry had played the part of the gallant hero, and even though thinking back to what had happened back then was rather scary for her she was grateful to him for rescuing her. However, she had always been too nervous and shy to act on her feelings towards him. It's not that she wanted to steal away her friend's crush, but Harry was a rather special boy and as far as she was concerned fair play. For Luna it had been the opposite growing up, she knew the stories about the boy hero were all fanciful so she had been curious about the real Harry Potter but not much more than that. After he had taught everybody with the DA, and gone into battle with them...well, a part of her had indeed been secretly harboring a crush on him. Ginny knew her enough to recognize the signs, and even though she was a little embarrassed about being called out a small part of her hoped her friend was right. He was sensitive, and sweet...not to mention hansom. Luna felt her cheeks heat up as her thoughts started to wander and she refocused on the present. "Would you be okay with us if something did develop? I know you've always liked him." she pointed out.

Ginny paused as she thought about that before she eventually nodded. "I think I would, so long as you take good care of him. I've been thinking about possibly asking Dean Thomas out anyways and seeing how things go. Harry and I...well, I'm not sure we're really cut out to be anything more than friends." she admitted. While hearing that surprised Luna, she had to admit her friend had matured and she nodded.

"Well, whatever happens we'll always be the best of friends. Can't let any boys come between us. I really should be getting back though. I don't want daddy to start worrying too much about me." Luna told her, and Ginny smiled. She gave her friend a wave and they went their separate ways. As she began to walk, she let her thoughts start to wander and she thought more about Harry.

Maybe, just maybe she had caught the seeker's attention. Even if she had though, he would have to earn her heart. Just like a snitch, he would have to chase her down and beat out any other competition that might arise for her heart. Luna knew how precious and delicate a thing like love was, and it wasn't that yet but...with time anything was possible. For now it was a crush, and perhaps if she played it right it could be more than that. But, one thing she'd always disliked about Harry was how he refused to let anybody help him when he needed it, unless it was forced upon him. For a relationship to work both sides had to rely on and help each other, not just one carrying the burden of both. Honestly, she wasn't sure if he was ready for that. Perhaps she could get to know him better, and find out. After all, there was still some of the summer left before they headed back to school.


	3. Chapter 3: One-on-One

Chapter 3: One-on-One

It was about two days after the party and Luna was tending to the garden when she heard movement nearby. Aside from Ginny they rarely got visitors here, so she was a little surprised. While it wasn't likely that they would come under attack it was hard to say when and where the death eaters would decide to strike. Much as she hated to admit it, nobody was safe at the moment. Thinking quickly, she cast the disillusionment charm on herself and felt that trickle of runny egg slowly cover her body until she was camouflaged. Looking around, she soon noticed what appeared to be Harry Potter walking up to her door. The green-eyed hero of the wizarding world knocked gently, but there was no answer from within the house. Her dad had gone out to Diagon Alley an hour ago and wasn't due back until dinner time. She saw Harry's shoulders noticeably slump in defeat when there was no answer, seemingly accepting the fact nobody was there. Honestly she expected him to just leave, but he then bent down and laid a letter with her name on it in looping cursive in front of the door. She had no idea why he would be writing either her or her father, the only guess she had being perhaps a thank you note for her gift and coming to his party.

"Guess I came at the wrong time, hope I'll see you soon." Harry said quietly, turning on his heel and getting ready to make the walk back to The Burrow. Whatever it was he seemed quite saddened by the fact that she wasn't there, and her gut told her that this was probably the real Harry Potter. If she turned out to be wrong than clearly their acting skills were far superior to what she would have expected. Carefully walking around him, Luna walked over to the letter and carefully picked it up before dropping the disillusionment charm. She quietly walked up behind him and poked him in the back with the letter he'd just dropped off. Not hard, just enough to let him know she was there.

For the second time in recent days it seemed she had gotten the drop on him. A small smile appeared on her face when Harry had the knee-jerk reaction of jumping up slightly before whirling around and letting out a chuckle. "So you were here after all. You really are going to have to teach me that spell, Luna. If we'd had a proper defense teacher last year we would all know it, but as you well know we certainly didn't." he said with a smile, before looking down at the letter in her hands. "That's a thank you note...I wanted to deliver it in person. Honestly, I've never gotten a gift that was so thoughtful before. The only one that came anywhere near that close was when Hagrid gave me an old photo album with a few pictures of my parents in it. It was perfect, and I already went and got a wizard camera. Since you're the one who gave me the idea...well, I was kind of hoping you would be the first friend I would grab a picture of. If you don't mind, of course." he said, shuffling his feet a little nervously. Even an idiot would be able to tell her was anxious about something from his body language, and that really wasn't like him. Maybe if he was talking to a crowd of people, but he'd always been fairly comfortable when in small groups or one-on-one.

Luna looked at him curiously, trying to figure out what in the world he was so nervous about. Her head tilted slightly to the side as she pondered what it could be, before giving a small shrug. She was still the same friend she'd been before the party, it's not like she had changed into some evil person who was out to hurt him. Whatever it was he was so tied up in knots over would soon be remedied, she was sure. Maybe he was just worried that he would take a horrible picture and she would be upset with him about it. "Of course I don't mind, just let me go change first these clothes have dirt on them from tending to the garden. Come on in, there's some tea in the teapot sitting on the stove if you want something to drink. Just be careful, it's a gurdyroot infusion that's rather strong if you're not used to it." she said, opening the door and darting upstairs to find something more suitable to wear for a picture.

"Oh, right. Of course you can go change, I'm not in a rush." Harry said, following her inside after a moment of shock. It was clear he wasn't used to the rapid fire pace with which Luna lived her life. She moved from one subject to the next without a moment's hesitation and always seemed to be thinking about what she wanted to do next. One thing you could say about her was that she definitely did not waste any time. He took a seat in the kitchen and simply waited, arms crossed as he leaned against the kitchen table with the camera hanging from a leather strap around his neck. While she was gone he fiddled with it a little, reminding himself on the basics of how it worked as his fingers carefully moved along the different parts. These were definitely more complicated than their muggle counterparts, but well worth the extra effort to get moving pictures of people you cared about. Luna's gift had been well thought out, and he'd already put a few pictures of his parents from the photo album Hagrid had given him into one of the frames. Being able to wake up and see their faces smiling up at him had cheered him up even more than he had guessed it might. He valued those pictures more than his wand, the gift of Hedwig, or that small knight figure he had played with in his cupboard under the stairs. They were his only glimpse into what his parents mannerisms and smiles looked like, and if anything ever were to happen to those pictures he knew he would lose it. Most items could be replaced, but he highly doubted that those could.

While Harry was downstairs thinking Luna was looking through her clothes. It took some searching before she found what she deemed a suitable outfit and tried it on. She smiled when she looked in the mirror and adjusted her clothes before nodding. Luna had on a periwinkle flair skirt, with long white leggings that had periwinkle stripes on them to match. For her top she wore a white flower blouse, and the flowers themselves had some purple to them as well that complimented the skirt quite nicely while not being a total block of the same color. "That's the look for sure." she told herself, giving a small twirl and letting out a giggle before taking a brush and working on her hair for a few moments. She left it loose but it looked much better than before as there had been a few knots that needed working out. Her own opinion of how she looked was really the only one that mattered, and she thought that it was much improved after the change of clothes and the much-needed hair brushing. Last but not least, she applied a small amount of purple eyeshadow, just enough to make things pop before putting away her makeup and nodding. "Here we go." she said to herself, a little nervous herself because she hadn't had a photo taken of her in a while. She trusted Harry to do a fair job of it, though.

As she came back downstairs she found Harry fiddling with his new camera as he waited and decided to break the silence. "So, do you have any idea how to use that thing or are you guessing at this point?" Luna asked, walking over and taking a seat across from him, chin resting on her hands as she leaned over to look at it curiously. She knew the basics on how to operate one but wasn't an expert by any means. Her daddy was much better at that sort of thing. Drawing and crafts were her strengths, not photography. If he had any questions she might not be able to answer them in a technically proficient way, but she could probably point him in the right direction at the very least. Between the two of them she was fairly confident they would be able to figure things out at least well enough to get a couple pictures that weren't horrible.

Harry smiled when he looked over and saw what she was wearing, and he had to admit she looked really pretty. Not that she didn't usually, but this was more of a girly look than he was used to seeing on her and he thought the color really complimented her. The purple and her long, gold hair really worked well together. People made fun of Luna all the time, calling her 'Loony Lovegood' and other, crueler names; honestly, it was their loss that they missed out on seeing such a beautiful, smart, and kind potential friend. "I know the basics I think, it works pretty similar to a muggle camera except this one takes moving photos instead of only still ones. All I have to adjust is the time that I hold the button down for. My aunt and uncle made me take pictures sometimes since they never wanted me in them, so I just had to adjust my mindset a bit." he explained. Harry's eyes moved up and down Luna appreciatively, not trying to ogle her but he was a healthy teenage boy and it was hard not to take note of how attractive she looked right now. "You look lovely, Luna. That purple's a great color on you." he added,, the compliment slipping out before he could stop himself. "I mean, you always do...it's just...well, different. In a good way." he amended, knowing he sounded like a babbling, bumbling baboon at the moment. That was one thing that Professor McGonagall had said during the dance lessons before the Yule Ball that he knew he would never forget. She really was his favorite teacher even though the class was a challenge, stern but fair and had a surprising sense of humor from time to time.

Luna let out a giggle upon seeing him get so twisted up in his own words. "Relax Harry, you didn't have to explain. When you compliment a girl just say what you mean and leave it at that." she told him with a wink, before she grabbed the letter he had given her and opened it. "Now be quiet a moment while I read this. You went to the trouble of writing it so it's only fair I take the time to read it." she instructed him. Harry simply nodded and she turned to examine what he had written. One thing she had to compliment Harry on was that his penmanship was much better than most boys their age. Giving her head a small shake, she refocused her attention and started reading.

'Dear Luna,

If you are reading this it probably means I couldn't find you to give you my thanks in person for the gift that you gave me. The idea, the execution, and the surprise of you attending the party were all things I hadn't expected. However, I must say that you helped make my birthday party the most special one I've ever had. The only one that comes close is when Hagrid rescued me from the Dursleys and gave my cousin Dudley a pig's tail when he started eating my birthday cake. As you know, I don't have many pictures of my family. Hagrid collected some in a photo album for me, but aside from them and a couple Sirius showed me...well, it's just the memory I have that the Dementors brought up of my mum screaming as she tried to protect me from Voldemort. You reminding me that I have you all now, my close friends who are essentially a version of family in their own right was unexpected but much appreciated. It's the best gift I've ever received, and I really feel like I owe you one. I don't deserve to have any of you as friends, you're all so amazing. I was a terrible friend to be around for most of last year, getting angry all the time and lashing out; but, the lot of you stuck by me and for that I will always be eternally grateful. I hope that we can get to know each other better as time goes on. There's something about you Luna, you see things about people that others miss. Instead of using it to get what you want, you use it to try to help people and I respect that more than I can say. Hope this wasn't too mushy of a letter, all I am really trying to say is thank you. For coming to the ministry, for the gift, and for being a great friend.

Your Friend,

Harry

Luna frowned as she reread a part of that letter that really bothered her, and she looked at Harry intently. "Harry, do you really believe that you don't deserve to have us as friends?" she asked him, her tone quite serious as she met his line of sight and stared at him. "Do you really think that?" she asked, waiting for an answer as she tapped the table with her fingernail, waiting expectantly. She had heard rumors about how he'd grown up, so it wouldn't surprise him if they were true that he did feel that way. Abuse, be it physical, mental, or emotional always leaves scars. Nobody, especially a child can come out of that without their own band of demons to face. If she was going to be a good friend to Harry though, she definitely wanted to make an effort to help him with his self-esteem. Aside from Hermione, she didn't think any of his friends paid much attention to the fact that is dreadfully low in spite of all the amazing things he'd accomplished. He didn't have to get a big head about it, but he did need to reach a balance where he could accept the good parts of his life.

Harry was more than a little surprised at her reaction to his letter, not quite sure what to say. Part of him wanted to run, just avoid the question and leave before she dug into a subject he really didn't want to discuss. He owed her better than that though, she had come with him on a blind hunch his godfather was in danger that turned out to be a trap. Instead of running, she had fought alongside him and the others putting her life in danger in the process. The very least he could do was not run himself, even though talk like this scared him more than fighting the Hungarian Horntail had in fourth year. "Well, I mean...yeah. I guess I do." he admitted. "I was awful to all of you last year because I was angry at Umbridge and Dumbledore. A good friend shouldn't take out his anger and frustration on his friends, that's not fair or right. It doesn't make one bit of difference that Voldemort's influence on my brain was making me angry, either. I should have applied myself more to my Occlumency studies with Professor Snape instead of taking the first chance I got to try and attack him. He may have made me angry but it was my choice to behave that way and it was immature of me. To be perfectly honest, I don't feel like I deserve any of you as friends. Especially one as thoughtful and kind as you, Luna." he explained. Being transparent about what he thought was difficult, but he made himself do it, Luna had earned that much from him.

Luna let him say what he had to before reaching over and smacking him hard, the full weight of her arm behind it and making him rock back in his seat, nearly falling out of it. Almost instantly a reddish pink spot in the imprint of her hand started to appear on his face. She shook her hand as it stung a bit before she glared at Harry. "Don't you dare say or think that again, Harry. Next time I won't go so easy on you." she said. Harry tried to look away, but she growled. "Oh, no...you look at me Harry Potter!" she yelled, not letting him get out of this. She came around the table and pulled his chin up from where he'd tried to stare at the floor. Once their eyes were locked she continued. "Everybody, even people like Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, Merlin's balls...even Voldemort is deserving of friends and the love they have for one another. Maybe if people like them actually had real friends they wouldn't be so awful. Harry, you're one of the kindest, bravest, and most genuine people I know. You care about others so much, but you need to learn to take care of yourself. More than that, you need to learn how to love yourself. If you can't do that, you'll never be ready to accept the love of the people who love you back." she explained, holding his chin steady as she looked into his emerald eyes. Luna was searching for anything in them to reassure her that the message was getting through to him. "Do you understand?" she asked, a dangerous undertone in her voice. While she didn't know of anybody personally who had committed suicide or self-harmed, Luna knew enough about psychology to recognize when someone was at risk of those things. Harry might not realize it but he was if what he had just told her was true...that kind of thinking was dangerous. She'd lost her mother at a young age, and she didn't want to take any time for granted with the close friends that she had made recently. If forcing Harry to have difficult conversations with her was what it took to help him get his head on straight, well that's what she would do.

Harry gulped as he tried to digest what she was telling him. Every instinct in him just told him to run, but he knew deep down that wasn't a healthy thing for him to do. It made sense, and he was sure she was right it's just...he didn't know how to do any of that. Hating himself wasn't something he wanted to do, but he always felt like he was making mistakes, letting people down, and he nearly got his closest friends all killed because he thought he knew what he was doing when he clearly didn't. "I...I do understand, Luna. But I'll admit, I don't know how to begin putting myself back together. Sirius was starting to help me, and now he's gone. He'd been through a situation where he'd hurt others by acting out of anger, and he truly did hate himself for not being there for me as my godfather. He'd found a way to fight and move on...he was so strong. There's nobody...nobody that understood me as well as he did. And it's my fault he's dead, because I thought he was in danger and rushed in to save him. Instead, I sprung a trap and he came anyway. The love we have for each other is what killed him, because he couldn't just let me die. You'll hate me for saying this, but a part of me wishes it was me that had taken that killing curse, not him. I'm not trying to blame myself but the facts are I am the reason he was there that night at all. It is my fault." Harry told her, finally venting what had been weighing on him ever since that night. He couldn't talk to Ron and Hermione about this, they had both their parents. Luna had lost one of hers, so she understood. Sirius may not have been his parent by blood, but he really had started to look up to him as his godfather. The man had been through so much, and always kept fighting even when everything and everybody was against him. Just when he had finally started to let himself depend on somebody other than Ron and Hermione they were taken away from him. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right, it just was.

Luna was hurt that he felt he should've died that night, but understood the feeling. She had thought about hurting herself and even killing herself from time to time after her mum died. Over time and with help from her daddy she had learned how to fight back against those inner demons, but Harry had nobody to teach him. The one who had started to had been taken from him, and the cruelty of that made her heart ache for him. Moving around the table, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight hug. "Shhh, it's okay Harry. You can always, and I do mean always talk to me about this. I get it. Lots of people care about you Harry, and we all agree you are a special person. Not because you're the Chosen One, or the Boy-Who-Lived. We care because you're Harry, the person who fights for his friends and even his enemies sometimes because you try to do the right thing. We'll help you learn to fight this. You're safe here." she said, squeezing him tighter before letting go. "As for what happened with Sirius, all you did was make a mistake. He knew the risks, and he came anyways. Because he loved you, and believed you were somebody worth protecting. You can't take that choice away from him by blaming yourself, because it's not fair to either of you." Luna told him, pausing to let that sink in for a minute before continuing. "Look, I'm not asking you to become a different person overnight, just don't give up. Keep trying, and eventually you'll get there." Luna told him, trying to be comforting but not going to say the standard 'oh, you couldn't have known' or 'of course it's not your fault, dear' bullshit she was sure he got plenty of. Harry wasn't someone who needed patronizing like that.

Tears were running down his face, and even though it was a cathartic experience that he needed he felt a little embarrassed that he'd broken down like this in front of Luna. "Thanks, it means a lot to me Luna. I know I can trust you, it's just...hard learning to be that vulnerable." he said, wiping his eyes before taking out his camera. "Now, before I head back. Give me a smile and a twirl in that gorgeous outfit so I can get a picture." he told her with a wink. Luna obliged him and he did just that, snapping the photo of her twirling and smiling that would hopefully be captured well by the camera. While she'd twirled she had let out a giggle, the light laughter went a long ways to making them both feel more comfortable and relax again. "Can you give me a couple of you just smiling in case that one doesn't turn out?" he requested, snapping a few more before nodding and putting the cap over the lens to protect it. "Awesome, I'll see you later I should be getting back before Mrs. Weasley starts worrying too much. She was okay with me taking you a thank you note, but I don't think she had planned on me staying for too long and you know how she worries."

Luna had fun posing for the photos and was a little disappointed Harry had to go already. "Okay, I understand. Please come back soon, though. I love Ginny, but I wouldn't mind having more of my friends around from time to time. When you aren't being all dark and ominous you're quite fun to have around, you know. And even when you are like that..I still want to be here for you." she explained, wanting to make doubly sure he knew that she didn't mind talking to him about that sort of thing. She was not one to shy away from hard truths, and she thought that was part of the reason she was in Ravenclaw. Learning facts was great, but knowledge about yourself and others was often even more valuable. It was a great responsibility though, because while it could be used to help it could also be used to harm when in the wrong hands. If she ever went from the helping to the hurting she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to forgive herself. Harry speaking again broke her out of her own dark thoughts, which she was grateful for.

"I will come back. Today was...needed. You're different than anybody I've ever met Luna, but in a good way. Does tomorrow work for another visit?" Harry asked her hopefully. It was clear that he really did want to come back, and not only because she wanted him to. Luna scanned his eyes and his expression, able to tell he really did mean it when he said he wanted to come back so soon. After only having one good friend for so long, starting to make another was like a breath of fresh air. She loved spending time with Ginny, but with Harry it was just different. One wasn't necessarily better than the other, they were just different personalities to be around.

Surprised but pleased at the change in their friendship, she nodded. "Yeah, tomorrow's perfect. See you then, maybe we can go catch freshwater plimpies or search for crumple-horned snorkacks. " she said, chuckling and giving him a smile. Luna would have to think of something fun for them to do together. She had lots of ideas, the problem would be narrowing them down to the best ones and seeing which he liked.

Harry nodded, and started heading out the door. "Sounds great! Bye, Luna." he said, waving before walking out the door. Luna sat at the table after waving back, more curious than ever about the mystery that was Harry Potter. Some things made sense, but others she needed to get to know him better before she could fit the puzzle pieces together to get the full picture. Humming to herself, she set about cleaning. The place didn't look too rough, but if she was going to have company again she did want to be a little more prepared than she had been for his unexpected visit today.


	4. Chapter 4: Bad Dreams

Chapter 4: Bad Dreams

Darkness, all-enveloping that you could almost feel weighing you down with how heavy it was...that was all Luna saw around her. She'd never been afraid of the dark like most children, but there was an uneasiness to this one that sent chills down her spine. Up ahead of her a faint, flickering torchlight blossomed into existence near a stone archway, and she knew instantly that it was the veil. This was the same archway they had seen in the Ministry that night, the one Sirius had fallen through after being hit by the killing curse, the one she had heard what sounded like her mother calling out to her through, and it was something she knew was a relic from another age. Wizards now, they didn't understand the way things worked as well as some of their predecessors did. Even though it scared her she felt a pull towards it, and slowly began walking towards it. There was something about it drawing her in, and she couldn't resist even though she felt a sense of dread deep in the pit of her stomach.

As she got closer she felt a cold chill again and noticed Dementors circling the veil, their presence inducing depression and fear trying to reach out and subdue her with it. Not to be deterred, she thought about Harry, Ginny and the rest of her friends before casting her Patronus, and the bright hare cut a path forwards that she followed through. She kept the Patronus going as she stepped forwards, stopping a mere five feet in front of the veil and looking around curiously. Part of her had expected something to happen when she got close, but Luna didn't see anything out of the ordinary happening. That was when she heard her mother's voice, though, calling out to her again like it had that night. "Luna...join me. I...miss you." she called, the words sounding as if they were coming from a distance but were still clear.

Frowning, she tried to process what her mum was asking of her. Joining her meant death, there was no way around that and it certainly wasn't something she thought her real mother would ask of her. "I think I heard you wrong, what did you say?" she asked, leaning closer as she took another step towards it. Without her even realizing it the hare Patronus faded and the Dementors edged closer, emanating their cold gloom as they did. Luna shivered but turned her head so her ear was facing towards the veil as she waited for a response. There was no way that her mother would ask her to commit suicide by going through the veil, surely she had misheard. Maybe it was some weird creature pretending to be her mother so as to lure her in.

"You heard me. I said to join me, daughter. I miss you." her mother called out once more. Scratching her head in confusion, she tried to process why her mother would ask her to do this. None of it made any sense but when she moved to stand up and back away from it she found herself ringed in by a large circle of Dementors. Their skeletal hands were reaching out for her in their dark cloaks, longing to grab her and hold her still while they sucked out her soul. She brought up her wand again, her hand shaking. "Expecto Patronum." she said, trying to think of her friends but finding herself unable to remember what it was like to be with them. A few wispy strands escaped her wand that quickly disappeared as another surge of cold shot through her. She began to be truly afraid now. She'd heard once that if you actually died in a dream you could die in real life as well. While she wasn't sure if it was true, she was not eager to test that theory. Instinctively she backed away from the dementors edging slightly closer to the veil.

"Please, just let me go." she pleaded, knowing it was futile but not knowing what else to try at this point. The Dementor closest to her leaned forward, pulling away its mask so it could give her the kiss and she tried to back up again. When she tried to get out of the way her back met the unforgiving stone of the archway, preventing her from moving. There was nowhere left for her to go, and she tried to dodge to the side to avoid the kiss but she felt her foot slip and she began to fall backwards. She started to cross through the veil and wondered if this was when she'd finally meet her mum. It seemed a bit of an odd way to go, but she'd always been an odd girl so maybe it was fitting. She started to cross through, and then...nothing.

* * *

`(OvO)´

Luna jerked awake with a start, realizing she had broken out into a cold sweat during her nightmare. Her breath was coming in gulps as she tried to process the strange dream. She had a vivid imagination so having the occasional nightmare wasn't out of the norm for her, but that had been far more intense than any she could remember. Goosebumps covered her skin and she pulled the blanket closer as she tried to reassure herself that all was well. "Don't let figments of your own imagination take the fight right out of you." she said to herself, as she closed her eyes and focused. Slowly she began to clear her mind, focusing on the way the blanket felt over her, and the bed beneath her, the pillow she could feel as she slowly laid back. Ever so gently she eased herself into a quiet meditation and felt the fear that had been gripping her slowly begin to slip away. It didn't disappear completely, she could feel it lurking and trying to find a way back in like some animal on the prowl but it had lost its power over her for now.

She took about half an hour meditating like that before breaking out of it and letting out a sigh. She couldn't hide in her bed forever, after all it was summer vacation. There were loads of fun things she could be doing right now, and it was better not to waste a day if possible. Luna proceeded to get dressed and brushed her hair before walking downstairs to make herself an egg and cheese sandwich for lunch. Once she'd had some food she felt loads better and smiled as she set about cleaning up the dishes. Soon everything was tidy as could be in the kitchen so she decided to go and enjoy the garden. It was a little after ten o'clock and the sun was already shining with a nice summer breeze to go with it. Stepping outside and into the garden she picked her way around what they were growing to her favorite spot in the middle of their garden and plopped herself down. Luna crossed her legs and leaned back against the sun-warmed rock, letting her thoughts wander as she simply basked in the sun.

As the sun started to melt away the troubles of the night, Luna began to hear footsteps and opened her eyes to find Harry heading towards the house. She got up and brushed some of the dirt off her jeans before finding her way out of the garden. "Hello, Harry. Just to be safe...what did we use to communicate in the DA?" she asked, pulling out her wand and holding it steady on him as she waited. If her nightmare had reminded her of anything it was that they weren't quite as safe as they all seemed. All it took was a moment to forget to check who someone was or wander somewhere alone, and things could go horribly wrong. If people could disappear right out of their shops in Diagon Alley or get murdered in broad daylight it was much smarter to take a little time to verify a friend's identity before going about your business.

Harry looked from her wand to her, giving her a nod. "Special galleons that Hermione worked on. What did we fly to the Ministry on?" he asked back, following her example. A small frown appeared on his face as he looked at her, even though he'd only gotten to know her last year it was easy to tell that something was bothering her. She had helped him a lot the other day and he was grateful for it, so if he could offer any help to her he would gladly give it.

Luna smiled at the question as she remembered that particular adventure. "Thestrals, naturally. Their big, leathery horses who can only be seen by those who have seen death." she added. Then she decided to move back to her rock in the garden, because right now little things like that helped her feel more at ease. "Come on, there's a nice spot out here." she said, motioning him to follow as she picked her way back and took a seat on her rock, settling in. Harry soon joined her, making himself comfortable on the ground as he crossed his legs underneath him.

"Luna...forgive me if this seems rude, but...well, you look like you had a bit of a rough night. Is there something bothering you?" he asked her quietly. Harry looked a little uncertain, but it was obvious he was trying to be a good friend. "If you'd rather talk to Ginny or your dad I understand. Just thought I'd offer, I've had my share of bad dreams and sleepless nights myself lately." Harry admitted. Things might be relatively safe for them at the Burrow and here at The Rookery but that didn't mean he was completely unaware of the danger the wizarding world was right now. Add to that the death of his only real parental like figure he'd ever had, and it was no surprise at all to hear he was struggling as well.

She shifted uncomfortably on the rock and let out a sigh. "Guess I didn't hide it that well. It's not that I wouldn't appreciate it talking about it I just...I'm not sure I can, Harry." she admitted it quietly. Even now in the light of day with a friend next to her thinking about it made her shiver. After a few moments she steeled herself and forced herself to talk to her friend. These things were like a kind of poison, and the only way to draw it out was to share the burden of them with the people who cared about you. "Basically I was back at the death veil, there were Dementors and...and my mom was asking me to join her. She didn't specify, but I'm assuming she meant by killing myself. The Dementors surrounded me and were trying to kiss me, and when I tried to dodge them I slipped and started falling into the veil when I woke up." she explained, shaking her head as a tear fell. "You know, part of me thought for a moment that maybe I should listen to her. She kept saying how much she missed me and I miss her too. I've never met anybody quite like her, my mum was amazing. She just had this way about her of brightening up a room, making people laugh and smile. For a moment, just a moment...I thought maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if I did fall into the veil and saw her again." Luna told him seriously, tears beginning to fall down her face as she admitted what was bothering her.

Upon hearing all that from his friend Harry knew instantly that he was in over his head. Not sure what else to do, he got up and sat next to her on the rock since it seemed big enough to fit another person and slowly put an arm around her and as he pulled her against him for a hug. "That's awful, Luna. All I can say is you would be sorely missed if we were to ever lose you. Your father loves you dearly, as well as all of your friends. You're important to all of us." he said quietly, holding her tighter as she started to cry a little more. It hurt seeing his friend like that, but he knew that her crying was probably a good sign because she was letting it out instead of holding it in.

It felt good to let go for once and simply feel, and Luna held onto Harry gratefully as she did just that. Luna knew she should probably be embarrassed about crying all over Harry's shirt, but at the moment she was just grateful to have somebody there for her. "Thanks, I do...I do know that. It's just hard sometimes, I'm sure you of all people can understand that." she said, knowing he had a darker past than almost anybody she knew. Fate had not been kind to either of them, but they were trying to make the most of what had been given.

Harry let out a laugh at that, shrugging. "Yeah, I suppose I do understand that better than most. You know what saved me?" he asked, pausing for effect. "Friends. Friends like Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, the twins, and you of course." he told her, finally letting go when he noticed her starting to feel a bit better. If Sirius had been able to teach him anything it was that good friends were more important than just about anything else. And, deep down he knew his godfather wouldn't have wanted to go out another way. He had died trying to protect his godson, and the time he'd bought him had probably done just that. He'd also died fighting the people who had helped empower Voldemort, who had in turn killed his best friends. The old dog wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Luna wiped away the tear tracks and nodded, finally starting to feel more like herself again. The meditation had earlier had helped, but it had been more like sticking a band-aid over a problem than actually healing the injury. "You're right, friends are important. I actually started working on a painting in my room. It's of all of us who fought at the Ministry, well the kids at least. We're linked by the word friends repeated over and over like chains connecting us." she explained, smiling as she thought about it. "As long as those chains of friendship don't get broken I know we'll win this war, because it makes us stronger than they can ever understand." she told him firmly.

Harry let that sink in for a moment before responding, a smile appearing as he did. "That's beautiful Luna, and you're right. All of that puts them at a serious disadvantage. Nobody fights harder than when they're trying to protect someone they care about." he said, before letting out a sigh. "You know, you aren't the only one who's been having bad dreams lately. Almost every night I see either Sirius or one of the friends who went with me to the Ministry being killed in front of me. Sometimes it's death eaters or Dementors, other nights they simply slip into the veil. One time a lot of us got buried in the time-turner room when they all fell, or slipped and got left behind to get crushed by the falling prophecy orbs. I still haven't figured out how to stop them from coming, and I don't really know who to talk to about them." he admitted.

It was obvious to Luna that Harry was unaccustomed to opening up to people like this. Now after he'd shared he seemed almost ashamed of himself for showing that much emotion. Seeing him like that bothered her and she wanted to help, but she knew it would be tricky finding how. "Harry, if I had to make a guess about the dreams I'd say it's because you feel responsible. Maybe it's a small part or a large one, but I think a part of you blames yourself for what happened." she said quietly, before reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Look, we all chose to be there with you because we wanted to help. If you had gone without us it could've been far worse, and we went with you knowing it would be dangerous. You're our friend and you needed help, so we did our best. We all know you tried your best too, and that's all anybody can ask." she told him firmly, giving his shoulder a squeeze before letting go.

Harry had been nodding as Luna spoke, trying to let it all sink in because he knew she was right. "Thank you. You see so much more than most people, and I'm grateful for it. I know you're right, it's just...well, it's tricky making yourself believe something when there's already something else there. Even if it's wrong it's entrenched, and rooting it out is always more challenging than you think it's gonna be." he explained, hoping that made some sort of sense because even he wasn't really sure if it did or not.

Luna smiled, letting out a laugh at his explanation. "That's an interesting way of putting it, but yeah I think I know what you mean. All I can say is keep at it, and if you ever need someone to talk to I'm happy to listen." she said, before getting up and stretching. "Thanks for coming over, but I really should get started on making lunch soon. I could make extra if you want to stay." she offered.

The offer was a kind one but Harry shook his head. "No thanks, I promised the gang some Quidditch after we eat over there, so I should probably be going too. Thanks for the advice, though. I needed some and...talking about that stuff isn't easy for me. I love Ron but he's not the type of person I would want to have a serious conversation like this with. You're a great listener." he complimented her, giving her a smile before turning around and starting to head back towards the Weasleys. "I'll try to come visit again as soon as I can. Mrs. Weasley was wrapped up in trying to make Ron clean his room this time but she usually keeps a pretty close watch on us. Even just coming over here I don't think she's a big fan of me making the trip alone." he admitted. She was perhaps a little overprotective, but at the moment he couldn't really blame her all things considered.

"You aren't so bad at giving advice yourself, Harry. I needed somebody to talk to today, and you did a great job of listening." she told him. "Just come and visit whenever you can, believe me I'm familiar with how protective Mrs. Weasley is of those in her change. Plus she basically sees you as one of her own, I'm sure if she could legally adopt you she would have by now. Anyways, have fun kicking some butt at Quidditch. See you later." Luna said with a smile and giving him a wave before turning towards home and heading off to go make some lunch for her and her father. He should be back soon and she was sure that he'd be hungry when he did get here. "I hope him confiding in me isn't just a one time deal." she said, thinking to herself that these talks with Harry were rather quite nice and she wouldn't mind more of them in future.


	5. Chapter 5: Practice Makes Perfect

Chapter 5: Practice Makes Perfect

When Luna woke up she only had two things on her mind, one of them was Harry and the other was learning a new spell her father had mentioned to her. The spell was Appare Vestigium and it revealed traces of magic. From what he told her it could even show footprints and track marks if whoever left them was magical. Her daddy had promised to start teaching her today after she got all her chores done. So, with an enthusiasm that refused to be deterred Luna breezed through her chores and finished by making breakfast for them both. She brought it up to where he was working on the newspaper and set down the tray. Her father had always been optimistic that if he kept up searching with this spell that they would eventually find the crumple-horned snorkacks that nobody else seemed to believe were real.

Entering the room was easy enough but getting her father's attention was another matter altogether and she had to actually go up and tap him on the shoulder before he noticed her. "Daddy I finished my chores and brought up breakfast. Can we start on that new spell you mentioned when you're done eating? Pretty please?" she asked, giving him her best puppy dog eyes that she was sure would make him melt. Even before her mother passed away she'd been a daddy's girl and that hadn't changed in the slightest. Perhaps it was a tad unfair of her to use such tactics, but nobody was perfect and they did usually prove effective.

Xeno Lovegood just blinked in surprise and chuckled, reaching down to ruffle her hair. "Of course we can, pumpkin. Breakfast smells delicious by the way thanks for cooking." he said, going over to the table she'd set the tray on and taking a seat. Luna had made eggs, sausage links, and blueberry pancakes that looked to die for. Naturally there was butter and syrup for the pancakes and to drink there was orange juice. He dug into the meal as Luna took a seat across from him and did the same. A moment later he let out an appreciative moan, washing his food down with a long drink. "Merlin, that hits the spot. Didn't realize how hungry I was." he admitted. Luna wasn't surprised by that comment, knowing her father had a tendency to forget things like meal times when he was busy working.

Luna just smiled happily as she ate, blushing faintly at her father's actions. "Well, I was taught by the best after all. Besides, somebody has to remember to feed you because you always forget. If I wasn't here somebody would probably find your skeleton hunched over your printing press when they came here to solve the mystery of why the Quibbler stopped production of magazines." she told him, spearing another sausage link with her fork and gobbling it down. The little links were in her opinion much tastier than the larger ones, so that's what they usually got.

Her comment may have been a bit dramatic but Xeno had to admit she wasn't far off. More often than not he didn't take care of himself properly when he was busy with his work. His wife used to be the one who did that sort of thing. When she'd passed Luna had started taking care of him as much as the other way round. "Yes, well you might be right about that. Thankfully, I have a wonderful daughter to look after me though. Now come on, let's finish up and we'll go down to the garden so I can start teaching you your new spell." he told her with a wink. He might not be the best parent when it came to remembering when to do the laundry or cook a meal, but nobody could deny that he cared for his daughter greatly and when she needed his help he always tried to make time to be there for her.

"Yesss. I can't wait to learn this and sneak up on my friends when they aren't expecting me. With this and the disillusionment charm I'll be unstoppable." she said, looking a little sheepish after saying that aloud. "I mean, learn this because it might prove useful at some point when searching for the snorkacks with you." Luna amended. If they were ever able to actually find one she was sure she would be just as ecstatic as her father. However, she was realistic about the fact that it would probably take quite a long time if it ever happened in their lifetime. After all, her father had been looking for them for ages and he hadn't had any luck yet. Shrugging to herself, she refocused on her meal and scarfed down the rest of her breakfast quickly, carrying her dishes down and setting them in the sink when she was finished. Her daddy took a little longer to finish but soon they were both heading out to the garden.

Xeno gave her another brief explanation on how the spell functioned before doing a demonstration. "Appare Vestigium!" he bellowed, spinning in a circle as he held his wand up to his face and blowing out a cloud of gold dust around himself. A brief image of a niffler appeared digging in their garden before running off after finding a small coin. The little flash of images was brief, but fairly clear and he smiled. "That, my dear...is how it's supposed to look. Also, a short glimpse into the life of a local niffler who has apparently been plundering our garden for treasure. The trick to this spell is to have a very clear idea in your mind of what you want to track and why, the spell should do the rest. For example I wanted to search for anything that had been digging in our garden, having found a few holes recently. There are some non-magical animals that do that sort of thing, but nifflers were the first magical one I thought of so I guessed that might be it on a hunch. Turned out I was right." he explained to her, before stepping back and observing as she started to practice.

It was a tricky spell, and it took her until lunch time to get the full proper cloud of gold dust around her. Luna was struggling on getting anything to appear in it though. She had decided to try and track the gnomes from the Weasley garden, since they were close and she was familiar with them. Eventually they took a break to eat. When they came out to try again she closed her mind and really tried to picture everything about one of the gnomes instead of just the group as a whole. This time as she spun she could tell something felt different, and sure enough when she opened her eyes she saw the gnome getting tossed by Percy out of the garden before wandering off dizzily towards the woods. Clapping her hands happily, she let out a whoop of excitement. "Daddy, daddy, I finally did it!" she said, running up to him and wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "Thank you." she said quietly.

Luna's enthusiasm and joy upon finally performing the spell warmed Xeno's heart as he hugged her back. "Oh, you're welcome, pumpkin. Glad there are still things I can teach you. You're growing up so fast and learning so much, before I know it you won't even need me any more. It'll be you who has all these new things to teach me and tell me about." he told her, wiping away a tear that appeared but it was one of happiness. "I don't know what I did to deserve a daughter like you but I'm grateful." he said, leaning down and pressing his forehead against hers.

She really couldn't believe how cheesy he could get sometimes. Luna still appreciated the sentiment though, and kissed his cheek. "Don't be silly daddy I'll always need you even if it's not for teaching me things. You're my daddy." she said, rolling her eyes a little. "It's not like anybody else can do your job for you. Besides, you're the best daddy a girl could have. We'll figure out my growing up too fast and what to do about it somehow." she said, before finally letting go. "Now, I am going to go work on the painting in my room. Holler if you need anything." she said, taking off like a shot.

Over the next few hours Luna managed to complete Neville and Harry, with the gold chain of the friends linking them. She was always fairly critical of her work, but this time she was actually pretty happy with what she'd accomplished. She washed her brushes and put away her paints before going to check on her daddy. He was waiting for her with dinner ready for a change and they ate together before she went back up to her room. Staring at the unfinished painting on her ceiling, she let her thoughts wander. As they did they drifted to Harry, as they were starting to do more and more often these days. "I wonder if he likes anybody. Loads of girls, including Ginny like him, but...well, I've never seen him take an interest in anyone aside from Cho and that was a complete disaster." she said to herself, sticking her tongue out a little as she thought about it. "I wonder if he could like me..." she mused, blushing and letting her imagination run wild before she drifted off to sleep. Needless to say, her dreams featured Harry in them quite prominently.

* * *

`(OvO)´

The next day Luna practiced as soon as she woke up, and seemed to have the trick of it down fairly well. "Daddy! I'm going to go and visit the Weasleys I'll be back later." she called, waiting for him to give a wave from the window before heading off towards the Burrow. She wanted to show Harry and Ginny what she could do. This sort of spell was a dead useful one and she kind of wanted to show it off a little. Harry would most definitely appreciate it and she thought Ginny would, too. Before she went to the Burrow, she performed the spell and made a sure detour to find the gnome. It took about an hour but she managed to find him and gave him a dirigible plum before heading the rest of the way to the Burrow.

When she arrived she saw Ginny tending to the chickens, Ron taking a nap under a tree, and Harry sitting by himself with an open book in his lap that he didn't seem to be paying much attention to. He was staring off into the distance from what she could tell, and because of that he was the first to notice her. She waved and he got up, coming over to meet her. "Hi Luna, I didn't realize you were coming over today. Are you here to meet Ginny, or something?" he asked. Usually Luna was fairly good about planning things so he was surprised to see her unexpectedly like this.

"No, I came to show you a new spell I learned. Everybody else seems to be busy so I'll just show you. It's called Appare Vestigium and it reveals signs of recent magical activity in an area. It can be used to track people, or magical creatures, anything magical I think." she explained. Luna proceeded to show him how it worked, this time using Hedwig as the target. She smiled and pointed to one section of the woods. "I think she's over there, though I couldn't tell you how far off the top of my head." she told him. Because she was Harry's familiar Hedwig had a faint aura of magic aground her, unlike regular owls that were unbonded to a witch or wizard.

Harry just looked at her, letting out a bit of a laugh. "That spell's incredible, and dead useful. I can't believe you learned it in a day though, it looks pretty hard." he said, shaking his head. "You know Luna, sometimes your intellect is actually kind of scary." he told her. It may have sounded like a bit of a joke, but she could tell her friend was serious. "Luckily for us you don't seem to be going dark, or we might be in real trouble. If you can learn something like that in a day, there's no telling what else you could learn just as quickly." he reasoned.

Luna couldn't help giggling at that, before poking him with her wand. "You remember that Potter, because if you ever step out of line I know quite a few nasty hexes I could put to good use." she told him, mostly joking. She would never seriously hurt her friends of course, but she wasn't above pranking them to help them learn a lesson if it was ever needed. When Harry talked about her possibly being able to learn other sorts of magic just as fast she just shrugged. "I don't think it's always obvious if somebody has gone dark Harry. Malfoy would probably brag about how powerful he was getting, but if somebody was being smart they would probably try not to show any signs of it so they could spy on the good guys." she told him, chuckling a little. "At least, that's what I would do." Luna said, trying to sound a little mysterious.

He gulped and nodded. "Got it, especially now that I know you can track me down if I try to run. I'll do my best to stay in your good graces, my lady." Harry said, giving her a short bow. When Luna talked about what she would do if she were to ever go dark Harry just looked at her a bit warily. "Like I said earlier, I'm glad you're on our side. Did you want to hang out with us for the day?" Harry asked hopefully. They didn't really have anything planned and he was sure Mrs. Weasley wouldn't mind having her over too much.

It was a kind offer, but Luna thought she should probably be getting back. Today she hadn't done her chores before running off here and even though she was sure daddy wouldn't mind she didn't like to get behind on that sort of thing. "Thanks, but I really should be getting back. Maybe my daddy has more cool spells like this one he can teach me." she said, certain he probably did.

Harry looked a little disappointed, but accepted that she had other things to do than just hang out with them. "Okay, I'll see you later Luna. Maybe we can go and explore Ottery St. Catchpole, I still haven't properly checked it out." he suggested.

Thinking about it for a moment, Luna smiled. "That sounds perfect, Harry. There are a lot of cool things there to check out, especially this one shop in particular that has all these odd magical items. Definitely worth the trip just to check out that shop to see if anything jumps out at you" she said, smiling. "Well, I'll see you soon." she said, before heading off back towards the Rookery.


	6. Chapter 6: Ottery St Catchpole

Chapter 6: Ottery St. Catchpole

Luna was working in the garden when she spotted Hedwig heading towards her with a later. Smiling, she went into the house and got a few pieces of bacon leftover from breakfast. Hedwig landed, elegant as always, and Luna untied the letter before handing her the bacon treat. She gently scratched her on the head before the beautiful snowy owl flew back towards the burrow and Harry. Curious, she opened the letter and was reminded of their last conversation as she read. It seemed Harry really was interested in wanting to visit Ottery St. Catchpole and if she was free he wanted to go today. In all honesty Luna hadn't really made any specific plans for the day, so wrote her father a quick note that she left on the kitchen table explaining where she'd went. Right now he was busy making final edits to the Quibbler as the next issue was being released in two days. Once all was in order she set off towards the Burrow, skipping to start off the trek.

It wasn't too long before Luna found Harry happily tossing gnomes from the Weasley garden with the help of Ron. One actually came fairly close to her, and she patted him on the head gently before waving at Harry. "You ready to hit the town?" she asked, calling out loud enough for him to hear since he was still a fair distance off. They didn't go into town that often themselves, but she knew where some of the shops and interesting things were. Usually she tried to do her exploring away from the muggles though, just to be safe in case she accidentally let something magical in nature slip into her conversation.

Harry nodded and talked to Ron briefly before heading her way. Once he was close he let a big grin appear. "Of course I'm ready. We are going to go and have some fun. You can give me the special Luna tour, I'm sure that's the best way to go about exploring anywhere." he told her with a wink. Looking back at Ron, he watched him engage his mom in conversation before smiling. "Ron and Ginny agreed to be the Mrs. Weasley distraction for our trip. Since it will most likely take a while I figured we would need somebody to keep her occupied and when I explained the situation they agreed to help. I think the plan is going through old picture books or something." he informed her.

Luna couldn't contain a giggle at how cheesy Harry was being, blushing. "Well, you are probably right about that. I suppose I can help you out, but in exchange I want you to show me that invisibility cloak I've heard rumors about. Not only show me, but take me out after curfew at Hogwarts when we get back. Do we have a deal?" she asked, holding out her hand for him to shake as she stared him down. She knew that if he promised to do it that he would keep his word. When Harry explained that their redheaded best friends were running interference for them she smiled, nodding. "I'll have to make sure to thank them both somehow, they're good friends." she told him.

Normally he would promise anything to help his friends, but the cloak was special so Harry actually took a good minute to think over her offer before nodding and shaking her hand. "You have a deal, one late night excursion at Hogwarts with the help of my cloak. Only rule is you cannot tell anybody about what we do or how we do it." he said, reaching up to rub his scar a bit as he felt a light twinge of pain. "Looks like they're all thoroughly occupied, we should probably get moving." Harry pointed out, and she nodded in response, beginning to lead the way towards Ottery St. Catchpole. "So what's first on the Luna tour?" he asked, as they walked together. They were moving at a steady pace but not so fast that they would get worn out on the way. They weren't wasting time, but they didn't really feel the need to make a mad dash of it either.

Thinking for a few moments as she weighed options, the little town gradually began to come into view and she smiled. After their long walk on another nice, sunny day she knew the perfect place to go. Luna took his arm without warning and started dragging him after her. "First things first we get some ice cream. It's really hot and they have a pretty good place here. You can even get a chocolate frog on top if you want one." she told him with a giggle. "It's pretty messy if it jumps on you, but really fun." she assured him. Two minutes later and they'd reached the shop called Reggie's Frozen Treats.

"That sounds great, but how on earth do I decide what to get here? Everything looks delicious..." Harry said, his mouth watering as they waited in line and he started to scan the selections. "Also, doesn't this town have both people with and without you know what? How can they do chocolate frogs on ice cream and get away with it?" he asked her quietly. He was well aware that the statute of secrecy was no joke, having been brought up on charges himself before.

"That's easy, silly. Just do eeny meeny miny mo. Whichever one you land on is the one you get. You have to close your eyes when you do it, though." she explained. Luna decided to lead by example and wound up with two scoops of the rainbow sherbet on a large waffle cone. "As for how they do chocolate frogs, they sell them to both sorts of people and simply take the jumping spell off for the people who do without. After that it's just a simple notice-me-not an they tend to overlook any unusual movement from them." she explained to her friend.

Harry shrugged and followed Luna's example in selecting an ice cream flavor, ending up with rocky road and a sugar cone. He opted out of the chocolate frog on top. When he had his first taste he couldn't help licking his lips and nodded. "Okay, this really is fantastic. I think this ice cream is better than Fortescue's to be honest." he said, before focusing on demolishing the tasty treat. As soon as he had started to eat it he realized how much he'd been craving something cool and refreshing, and he licked his lips happily when he was finished.

Luna nodded sagely when she heard his comment. "Oh, I think it's far superior. They make really good milkshakes too. Because this place is both muggle and magical they also use muggle contraptions in their shops. Have to admit they really do help make things better." she said, going to work on her cone as well. Once she was finished she grabbed a napkin and cleaned off the sticky edges of her mouth. Harry blushed a little, realizing he should probably do that too and got his own napkins to clean up. Soon enough they both felt much better and Luna once again took charge. He had placed her in charge of this excursion and she had no intention of letting him down. "Next stop is a book collector's shop, you can find the most interesting things in there. It's not only books, he tends to collect anything that catches his eye." she explained, dragging him towards the next place.

The next place was called Odo's Curiosities, and they had all manner of strange things. Some seemed magical where others were clearly muggle. Luna let go of Harry when they'd entered (once again having pulled him after her by the arm) and began to wander, leaving him to do his own thing as she did. Not sure where to start, Harry closed his eyes and let his senses lead him. Something almost started to call out to him, enticing him as it subtly pulled him forwards. Deciding not to resist it, he let the strange feeling guide him and he finally reached what he thought was the source and opened his eyes. In front of him was a small bowl filled with a clear liquid that could have been water but he wasn't really sure. Around the rim of the bowl were runes carved into it, but...it wasn't a pensieve like he'd at first thought. This was something else, something...stranger, and possibly older if he had to guess.

An old man who looked to be in his late seventies or early eighties appeared seemingly out of nowhere next to him. "Ahh yes, that my boy was a rare find indeed. It is what's known as a scrying bowl. All you have to do is picture a location and give it one drop of your blood, once you do this bowl shows you a scene. The only catch is the scene will either be from the past, present, or future. There's no rhyme or reason to which it will show you, but it's always something important." he explained. "To be honest, it's one of my favorites that I've managed to discover over the years. A part of me would be loathe to part with it, but everything needs a home and I've always known that I was never meant to keep it forever." Odo told him sadly.

Harry listened, fascinated that such a thing actually existed. He could tell the man was telling the truth, there was a unique magic about this item that had called out to him. What was almost more peculiar was how the old man, (presumably Odo), seemed to talk about the item almost as if it was alive and a friend. Perhaps it was in a way, after all magic did strange things. Odd though it may be, he decided he liked the kind of respect and care the old man obviously took with the items and the running of the shop itself. "How much to take it, sir? I...I can't say why, but something about it calls to me. I think I'm meant to have it, though why I couldn't even begin to say." he told him, knowing it sounded ridiculous but it felt true all the same.

Odo listened to what Harry had to say and nodded to himself, thinking the matter over as he did. Things in his shop didn't have fixed prices like most places. He tailored transactions to suit the buyer, and would sometimes even offer trades if they didn't have coin. He knew the boy was Harry Potter, and something told him that the bowl would come in handy for him in the future. "I'll tell you what lad, give me three galleons, three sickles, and three knuts. Something tells me you're meant to have this bowl as well, so I won't bleed you dry." he said, letting out a chuckle. He was of course aware that the Potters were well off, but three was a lucky number and had magical significance which felt much more fitting to him at the moment than trying to rob the poor boy.

The old man's offer was a generous one, Harry knew. He was sure that the bowl was worth at least three times that much if not more. He counted out the money and handed it to him. "Are you sure you want it to go for so little?" he asked him, and the man nodded. Harry hesitated before taking it. Surprisingly, the liquid within didn't move at all when he picked it up. "Thank you. I'll do my best to use it wisely." he said, before going to find Luna and show her what he'd found. It didn't take him long, she was on the second floor examining a peculiar owl statue that seemed to have fairies or something circling its head.

Luna hopped down from the stool she'd been sitting on when she saw Harry and eyed the bowl with an approving nod before looking at him. "Looks like you found something cool. This owl's nice, but nothing really spoke to me this time. So, unless you see anything else I think it's on to the last spot I wanted to show you. This place is the most special...well, to me at least." she explained, as she proceeded to lead him out of the shop and actually out to the outskirts of town. She didn't stop until she reached a strong, old oak tree that had a small treehouse in its branches. There were steps nailed into the trunk so you could climb it easily, and she led him up inside before sitting down on a bean bag chair. There was a little window, a tiny table and a little octopus stuffed animal in there but not much else. "This treehouse was built for my mother when she was little, and she showed it to me. When I get upset or overwhelmed I come here to calm down." she explained. "Oh, and the octopus is Mr. Tentacles." she said with a laugh.

Harry looked around the treehouse and had to admit that it was cozy and quite well made to have held up so long. He could see that more important were the memories she had shared with her dead mother, though...and he passed Luna the bowl he had acquired in the shop. "Luna...this bowl will show you a scene from either the past, present or future when you picture a place and give it a drop of your blood. Maybe you could picture the treehouse, I think it will show you something special." he said, passing it over to her and leaning back to watch. He was curious to see how this all worked. He couldn't say why he had a feeling the bowl would show her something important, it was an instinctual guess, really. Having survived several dangerous situation by acting on his instincts, Harry had learned to trust them over time and try not to question it too much.

When he passed her the bowl Luna was more than a little surprised, as Harry hadn't even had a chance to use it himself. "Thank you Harry, I appreciate it. I've heard stories about bowls like this, but never thought I'd see one for myself let alone get to use one." she said. She took out her wand and made a small cut in her thumb before holding it over the bowl. Once a drop of blood fell she pulled her hand back and closed her eyes, focusing on the treehouse. Although the bowl didn't seem to change for Harry, in her eyes it did as the liquid swirled to form what looked like a memory. It was of her mother sitting in this treehouse when she was maybe six years old, drawing what looked to be an underwater mermaid village. The mermaids looked to be having a festival of some sort, and Luna couldn't help herself as a few tears fell. Merlin, she missed her so much. She was glad that she'd had this place to go when she was little though, just like she did. Watching for a bit longer, she saw her mother began to draw otters swimming above the village playing near the surface as they tossed a ball back and forth. Finally she tore herself away from it, and wiped her eyes before passing the bowl back to Harry. "Thank you, it really is special." she said quietly.

He took the bowl back from her, a little awkward as he could see the bowl had showed her something private. "You're welcome, I could just kind of sense that it wanted to show you something." Harry said, shrugging. For the life of him he couldn't understand how this thing worked, but it was definitely one of a kind and most definitely one of the more magical items he'd ever encountered. He'd never heard of anything like this, and he would definitely have to ask Hermione when he saw her next to see if she had. "Thanks for showing me this Luna, I can see this place means a lot to you." he told her, doing his best to give her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

Looking over at him, Luna simply nodded in response to that last comment. "It does. This is a treehouse for special people, it's a safe place for them. If you ever need to use it you're welcome to as well. Please don't tell anyone else though, I haven't even shown Ginny this place." she told him, and Harry nodded in understanding. "Also, I just wanted to say thanks for today. Coming out was a great idea." she said, leaning closer to him. Before Harry had a chance to respond Luna leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips before pulling back. "Getting to know you this summer has been really special Harry, I just wanted to say thanks." she told him. The kiss had been fleeting, but Luna had felt a pleasant shiver through her body at the contact and smiled. _Hmm, perhaps we do have potential as a couple. _The thought had her blushing a light pink, but she was glad she had simply gone and done it. She knew that if she had tried to overthink it she never would have worked up the courage for her first kiss.

The kiss out of nowhere had completely thrown Harry off guard, and his cheeks were a bright red as his brain raced to process what had just happened. Harry had grown rather fond of Luna, he'd just never really imagined the possibility of them being more than friends. Now that she'd turned his thoughts in that direction, he realized he definitely wasn't opposed to the idea of possibly dating the amazing girl he'd already shared some adventures with. He could rely on her and talk to her about anything, which he figured were two rather important things in a relationship. "Yeah, I've enjoyed it too." he admitted. It took him a few moments before he looked at her more seriously. "Look, when we go back to school I don't want this to change. When I'm with you I feel like I can tell you anything, even things I can't talk about with Ron or Hermione. You're important to me, so I want us to keep spending time together. If that's okay with you, of course." Harry added, not wanting to sound like he was bossing her around or anything.

Luna beamed at him when she heard that and nodded happily. "Of course, Harry. Rampaging Hippogriffs couldn't keep me away. Now come on, we really should be heading back before Mrs. Weasley comes searching for you. My daddy won't mind so much and I left him a note, but Mrs. Weasley notices you're gone she'll worry. Maybe even ground you or give you extra chores." she said, hopping up and leading the way out of the treehouse. It wasn't long before they were back at the Burrow, and she wrapped Harry in a tight hug before letting go. "Thanks again, I had a great time. Next time you want to ask me out on a date though, just say so." she said with a knowing smirk.

The teasing joke about this having been a date hit awfully close to home, and Harry decided it was time he plucked up the courage to ask her the question that had been on his mind since she kissed him out of the blue. "Luna, there was something I wanted to ask you, actually. I know that this has all been happening rather fast between us, but...well, I really like you. I was wondering if you wanted to be my girlfriend? I've thought about it, and there's really nobody else I feel like this about." he admitted, blushing as he spoke but not backing down. "We can talk to each other, laugh, fight by each other's side...if you'll have me I would be the luckiest guy in the world. Do you want to take some time to think it over, or do you already know how you feel about it?" he asked. Harry looked at her hopefully as he waited for her answer, hoping that he wasn't wrong and that she did in fact feel the same way about him. She had kissed him, but perhaps he had misconstrued it and it really had only been a thank you for loaning her the strange bowl and whatever it showed her.

She couldn't help but let out a small giggle at how serious he was, and she wrapped her arms around him. "Silly Harry, if I didn't like you too I never would have kissed you in the treehouse. Of course I'll be your girlfriend. Because you asked so nicely, I'll even do you a favor and let Ginny know for you so she doesn't try to murder you when she learns about it." she said, patting his cheek before giving him another gentle kiss, this one a tad longer than the previous one. "You do know she's had a massive crush on your for ages, don't you?" Luna asked. It had always been rather obvious in her opinion, but she knew boys could be thick about that sort of thing. She didn't think Ginny would be too mad at her, it's not like she had wanted to steal Harry away from her it had just happened.

Harry was over the moon when she agree to be his girlfriend, and was more than happy to kiss her back when she went in for their second kiss. It made his head spin and a pleasant warmth blossom inside him, leaving him feeling a bit dazed but very happy. When she went on to talk about Ginny liking him after agreeing to be his girlfriend, and her saying she would talk to her about it he was rather confused. "To be honest I thought she'd gotten over that after her first year at Hogwarts. If you can talk to her that would be great though, I'd still like to be friends with her after all." he told her, and Luna simply smiled and nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it. Now go and get back inside before you get in trouble with Mrs. Weasley, I'm sure we'll see each other soon." Luna told him before skipping off towards the rookery at a good clip. She glanced back briefly to check that Harry got inside without too much trouble and he seemed to so she kept going on her way.

It didn't take too long for her to reach her house, and when she did she went straight to her room and laid down on her bed, smiling widely. "That certainly went better than I had planned." she said with a giggle. Sometimes life had surprises lying in wait for you, and she thought this whole thing with Harry was one of them. She hadn't been expecting it this summer, but it had snuck up on her and she was glad that it had. Neither of them were perfect, but nobody was. The important thing was that they could be themselves with each other. That was more valuable than anything else in her opinion.


	7. Chapter 7: Preparations

Chapter 7: Preparations

The school year was fast approaching, and for once Harry had decided to follow Hermione's advice and try to get things done ahead of time. He loved the Weasleys but they were hopeless when it came to planning things, always leaving it for a last minute rush. So this year instead of waiting to go with them like he had in the past Harry owled Luna and asked if she would like to go shopping with him, explaining his predicament with the Weasleys and not really feeling comfortable enough to go alone. Attacks were starting to ramp up from the Death Eaters everywhere, and much as he loathed to admit it he knew that not even Diagon Alley was completely safe anymore. He also added that if her father felt it best to come along he wouldn't mind, since he reasoned the man was probably fairly protective of her after losing his wife so suddenly.

Luna smiled when she saw Hedwig and waited patiently for her to land before untying the letter, feeding Hedwig a snack of sausage before writing him back. It seemed that this time Hedwig had been instructed to wait for a reply and she was all too happy to give him one. She explained that she had already gotten her things but would still be more than happy to join him. They hadn't really gotten to spend a day alone together since their trip to Ottery St. Catchpole, and she was looking forward to spending some time together as a couple. A brief visit or two under the watchful eyes of Mrs. Weasley at the Burrow didn't really count as quality time together in her book. She loved the Weasleys, but having a mum watching your every move made it awkward when you wanted to kiss your boyfriend so they hadn't done that since the day they got together. After asking her daddy she told him that Saturday morning around nine would be perfect, and that they could floo from her place if he wanted. She also added that while her daddy would like to come with he was actually making a short trip and wouldn't be back until the Monday after their excursion. With that settled she sent Hedwig on her way, and Luna tried to make a list of various odds and ends she thought she would need for the upcoming year at Hogwarts. While she'd gotten everything she thought she would need, there were always things you forgot and it didn't hurt to go over it all again to look for things she had possibly missed.

Saturday rolled around and Harry appeared right on time after having breakfast with the Weasleys. Luna was dressed in muggle jeans and a weird sisters t-shirt, and she couldn't keep from bouncing on her feet a little in anticipation. "Today you're all mine...and for shopping." she said, with a scary smile as she took his arm and dragged him over to the fireplace. We'll get your things first, and then we'll start on the list I compiled of odds and ends I need." she informed him, taking a pinch of floo powder and tossing it into the fire. "Diagon Alley!" she called out clearly, before letting go and stepping into the flames. Harry followed suit a moment later, much more successful this time than the first time he'd tried it. Luna linked her arm through his and led the way. "Come on Harry, robes first. That will take the longest." she said, patting his elbow possessively. She wasn't trying to boss him around, but boys (especially teenage ones) were notoriously bad shoppers. They would just go where they wanted in a random order, while Luna thought it much smarter to have a plan of attack and stick to it.

They spent just over an hour at Madam Malkin's, Luna making sure he had a presentable pair of dress robes, as well as three new pairs of school robes that fit better and one casual pair of dress robes for lounging around if he didn't want to wear muggle clothes. Harry of course protested the entire time, saying this was all too much. Luna just told Madam Malkin to ignore him and that she knew best in these matters, which the older witch wholeheartedly agreed with. Not only was the girl right, but it was better for her business to agree with the customer who wanted more. Harry groaned when they finally got out of there, and looked at her with a pout. "That wore me out, can we get a snack or something before the next shop?" Harry asked hopefully.

Luna felt a little sorry for him as whined and nodded, kissing his cheek. "Of course we can, Harry. Thanks for behaving in there, I know it was a challenge for you. Since you were so patient of course I don't mind giving you a break." she told him. She led them to a little vendor that had incredible fresh donuts and she bought one for each of them. Hers was a raspberry filled one where as he had opted for the chocolate glazed. They were cooked to perfection and she thought the burst of raspberry filling was delicious, and when she looked over at Harry he noticed his donut had rapidly disappeared as well and she giggled, handing him a napkin. "Here, you have chocolate on your face." she said. Of course, she couldn't really judge, having gotten some filling on her face as well that she wiped off before tossing their rubbish in a bin.

Once they'd had their snack and cleaned their faces and sticky fingers she looked at the next shop on their list. "Okay, looks like next is getting your books out of the way at Flourish and Blott's. Come along." she said, hopping up from the bench they'd taken a break on and leading the way. There were fewer shoppers out here than normal because of the state of things with the war on Voldemort, but most students were still going back to school and Diagon Alley was the premier place to shop so it wasn't completely empty by any means. "I almost forgot to ask, how'd you manage to get the time to do this? Ottery St. Catchpole was one thing but this will probably take longer than that little adventure." Luna was a curious person in nature, and she knew that Mrs. Weasley would definitely get suspicious if he was late for lunch if not before then. They could try to rush through their list, but even so shopping took time and she wasn't sure if they would get back before lunch.

Harry actually looked a little guilty when she asked him that, letting out a sigh. "I lied and said Remus was taking me shopping after explaining how I wanted to get things done ahead of time. She actually floo called him after and asked him about it, and he covered for me. He still hasn't asked me why I was lying about it. When I get back I really owe him an apology and an explanation, he's a good man." he said. He'd known it wasn't the best way to go about getting time with his girlfriend, but he hadn't really thought it through at first and as soon as he told Mrs. Weasley her plan she'd gone straight to the floo to make sure that was really the case. Things had just spun out of control, and it left him feeling like he'd taken advantage of a man he respected. Which, he kind of had in a way.

It was obvious that Harry felt awful about the way things had happened and she grabbed his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, all this means is that Remus trusts you to be mature and responsible. Write him and explain things, you can even tell him about us starting dating if you want. I'm sure he'll understand that us teenagers aren't perfect and it was a mistake you don't intend on repeating." Luna told him, giving him a smile. "Remus loves you, I'm sure he'll understand. Just try to be a little more careful about accidentally hurting other people's feelings and think things through more in future. You Gryffindors, always just diving right in." she chided him, but with a fond smile as she did.

Her words sunk in and Harry visibly relaxed a little, giving her a nod. "I suppose you're right. Usually I simply react to the crazy things that are happening and there's no time for planning, I guess that's something both you and Hermione can help me work on." he admitted. Both of them were organized, though Hermione went about it in the much more traditional sense with planners and a strict schedule whereas Luna seemed to keep her plans in her head. Honestly it was a little scary the way she could do that and seemingly not forget bits and pieces of what she had planned like he was sure he would if he tried, but whatever works he supposed.

The stop at Flourish and Blott's went by much faster than Madam Malkin's, they simply had to go down the list of classes he was taking and find the required books. Since he wouldn't be taking all the classes he had in previous years that definitely helped the shopping go by quicker. Before they left though, Luna browsed for a bit and found two books of her own. One was on ancient runes and the other was specifically about using transfiguration in combat. She'd combed through it briefly and it looked like it would definitely be helpful to her. "So Harry, I meant to ask have you given any thought to continuing the DA this year?" she asked, looking over at him as they waited in the line.

Harry was caught off guard by Luna's question, since he assumed they would have a competent DADA teacher he hadn't even considered the possibility of keeping it going. "Umm no offense Luna, but why would people still want to learn from me when we get an actual teacher this year? Besides, I've already taught you all most of what I know." he explained. He hoped she wouldn't be upset with him because of his answer, but he was trying to be honest about how he felt.

Luna listened and nodded, giving his hand a squeeze as she laced her fingers through his. "Okay. I'm not trying to force you to do anything, I just know that a lot of people really appreciated your help." she said, leaving the matter at that. "Not to mention, the teacher is Snape this year isn't it? Didn't you say that Slughorn fellow Dumbledore had you meet was taking up Potions?" she asked him. While Snape probably knew a lot about the Dark Arts and how to counter them having practiced them himself, she doubted that he would be the most pleasant of teachers. She highly doubted someone like Neville would benefit much under his tutelage, and would probably prefer Harry's help if offered. "You don't have to answer now, just something to think about." she told him, not wanting to push him and have him say no simply because she rushed the issue. The two of them waited patiently after that, paying for their books and shrinking them down so they were easy to carry before looking at the next stop on their list. "Okay, you really don't have a lot left just going by Eeylops to get things for Hedwig, getting some Quidditch gear that fits you a little better, and making sure you have plenty of writing supplies. After that is we still have time we can swing by the twins' joke shop." she said, flashing him a smile. "You can pick which we do next this time." she told him, wanting him to enjoy himself too.

Harry thought about it for a minute before laughing. "Well, we should definitely save the twins' shop for last so I say Quidditch time." he said, leading the way this time as he headed for Quality Quidditch Supplies. He got himself a new pair of gloves and a set of pads, as well as a new broom repair and polish kit as his old one was starting to run out of things. His firebolt was in pretty good condition, but he knew it would take a banging over the course of the season this year. Plus he had been named Captain of the team this year and he thought it was probably best to look the part. He may not be a fanatic about the game like Wood was but he still wanted to do a good job. "I don't think I've ever asked, do you like flying Luna." he asked, looking over at her and noticing she was standing in front of one of the newer Cleansweep models.

"Hmm? Oh, yes I enjoy flying quite a bit. Actual Quidditch games I enjoy watching, but not really to play in. For me I prefer just flying around, taking in the scenery and feeling the rush of the wind. Everything looks so different from up on a broom. It's...well, it's kind of a freeing experience, you know?" Luna asked, hoping he would understand what she meant. There was something special about being up in the air, having all that open space around you and the beautiful sights to see both above and below. Wherever you looked you couldn't help but feel like you were in another world altogether, always so much to see. You might be in the same place, but the vantage point made things look so different.

When she explained what she enjoyed about flying Harry had a knowing smile on his face as he nodded. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Even flying on Buckbeak or on the Thestral when I wasn't even in control...there's nothing quite like it. We'll definitely have to make some time to go flying together sometime." he said. Harry took a moment to make a mental note of which model she'd been looking at before they went and paid for his things. Since he was going to have fewer classes this year he was surprised at how fast this was going. They were nearly done already, that is unless Luna had other shops planned that she hadn't told him about yet. "On to Eeylops?" he asked still intent on saving the joke shop for last. He didn't really care too much about the writing supplies, so fitting that in whenever was fine with him.

Luna was happy to go to Eeylops next, always enjoying looking at the different types of owl. They went over to the owl emporium and Harry got some basic owl food as well as some treats for her. Usually he just gave her a little bit of whatever he was eating but he didn't always have free access to bacon so figured it was a good idea to have some other things as well. He also got some things to help keep her cage nice and clean, because Hedwig turned to get upset with him when it got too messy. Once it was all paid for and packaged he smiled, knowing they were about done with the boring things on their list and that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was fast approaching. Harry was about to ask if she was ready to go Scribbulus Writing Implements when Luna spoke up . "I do have one other stop on my list I was hoping to go to. Only thing is, it's in Knockturn Alley. That place called Borgin and Burke's really does get some of the most unique things there. I just wanted to browse a little if that's okay. Scribbulus Writing Implements is near there so we can hit it on the way or after, if you want." she told him, hoping it wouldn't be a big deal.

Now going into Knockturn Alley at the best of the times was rather dicey, let alone now with everything else going on. Harry thought it over for a full minute and a half before eventually nodding. "I suppose it couldn't hurt as long as we're quick about it." he said, before moving his messy hair over a bit to make sure it fully covered his scar. "Does that hide it?" he asked her, knowing she would know what he meant. If people didn't recognize him as Harry Potter he knew that would definitely be for the better. He had accidentally been to Borgin and Burke's once, and he knew that they would have to keep their heads about them to avoid any incident. Even two children doing some shopping who weren't able to be recognized as people who actively fought the dark weren't necessarily safe. He was sure their little trip to the Ministry had probably been talked about in places like Knockturn Alley, and he doubted some of them would be happy with him and the order thwarting Voldemort's plan.

Luna smiled and looked at his forehead, messing with his fringe a little before nodding to herself. "That should do it. Thanks Harry, I would just do it myself but I didn't want to go alone." she admitted, putting her arm securely through his before they set off together into the dark unknown of Knockturn Alley. Once they'd gotten to Knockturn Alley they had decided to leave the writing shop for after, just wanting to get it out of the way. They got a few looks because they looked to be a bit too respectable for the area, but nobody actually gave them any undue trouble on their way to the shop. Harry had been there once before (on accident admittedly) so he had a decent idea of where to go. The bell on the top of the door rang as they swung the door open, and they stuck close together as Luna began to sate her curiosity.

After about five minutes of searching the shop Luna was about ready to give up. She knew there was more to look through, but at the same time she knew they were both rather out of their depth. Just as she turned to go something silver glinted in a bit of firelight and drew her attention. Walking over, she found a small Raven statue that had sapphires for eyes that was clearly very old. She looked at the tag and her eyes widened. Supposedly this belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, the Grey Lady herself. Whether or not that was true she wasn't sure, but even if it wasn't the piece was still impressive. She looked at the price though, shaking her head. It was 250 galleons, there was no way she could afford that. Her shoulders slumping in defeat, she turned to Harry. "Come on, we should be leaving." she said, and they started towards the door.

Right at that moment Draco Malfoy and his mother burst into the shop, making their foul presence known immediately. Draco proceeded to berate the shopkeeper for being unable to fix an item, though he didn't specify what that item was. He told him that since he was clearly incompetent he would fix it himself, but at the price of using it free of charge. The man clearly didn't seem to like the situation but nodded. "That's fine lad, just get out of my shop before I toss you out. You might be Lucius' golden child but that doesn't make you invincible." he said, spitting at his feet.

Harry snuck a glance and saw Draco's face turn red with fury at that insult. Quick as a snake, he drew his wand and held it right between the man's eyes. "Careful now, I'll soon be making a name for myself that's separate from my father. He's not the only one capable of making himself useful to the dark lord, and once I complete my task I'll be admitted into the ranks." he said, before slowly lowering his wand. Draco motioned to his mother and the two of them left without another word.

As soon as he was gone the man, Harry thought his name was Borgin slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Damn kid. I never cared much for the Dark Lord and his lot, but they're too powerful to say no to." he grumbled, disappearing into a room behind the counter and leaving Harry and Luna alone in the shop. As far as they could tell, the Malfoys hadn't noticed their presence which was probably a good thing. Draco was never one to pass by a chance to taunt and make fun of him, and he really didn't want people knowing who he was if they didn't already.

Luna looked at Harry and tugged on his sleeve. "Come on, we need to be going." she said, but Harry wasn't budging. Draco Malfoy apparently had some task to do, that upon completion would make him a death eater. His rival had always been overly confident before, but if he was telling the truth he could become a dangerous enemy. He knew that underestimating people like Malfoy could come back to bite him if he wasn't careful. Harry closed his eyes for a moment to clear his thoughts before looking at the Raven Luna had found. It was beautifully made, and definitely looked old even though he wasn't sure how to tell if it was as ancient as it claimed.

"Do you know what it does? Most of the items in here have some sort of magic about them." he said, gently running a hand over the silver feathers of the beautiful bird. Harry had never seen anything like it before. If this had really belonged the Grey Lady, there probably wasn't anything else like it. All things considered, even though 250 galleons was a lot it was probably a decent deal. Well, provided the item wasn't a fake at least.

"No, I don't know what it does Harry. Even if I did, it's far too expensive. We should go before that man comes back, he won't like being reminded that other people saw Draco humiliate him." Luna said quietly, and Harry nodded. This time when she tugged on his sleeve he went with her, and they exited Knockturn Alley in a rush. It seemed that the Malfoys had been there just for that because they didn't see them anywhere on their way out. As she saw the opening to Diagon Alley Luna started to speed up, not quite going into a run but a bit of a light jog as she headed for the much brighter and safer area.

The two of them emerged into the light of Diagon Alley and as they breathed in the fresh air they felt the tension start to ease out of them. Luna turned so she was facing Harry and put her arms around his neck. "Thanks for going with me Harry, I don't think I would have had the courage to go there alone." she told him. Before he could reply she leaned in, closing her eyes as she gave him a long, slow kiss. As their lips pressed together she could feel the anxiety she'd just had replaced with a mix of other emotions. There was desire to try more, a warm feeling of happiness and safety knowing that he cared for her, and a large amount of curiosity about what other things kissing could lead to and wondering when she would be ready to try them. She smiled, finally opening her baby blues as she stared into his green ones and giving him a satisfied smile. "All in all, I'd say this was a successful venture wouldn't you?" she asked him.

It took both Harry's senses and his brain a good minute or so before they started to work again, and he laughed. "Yeah, I'd say it was definitely my favorite trip to Diagon Alley yet. But it's not over yet, if you're going to be dating me you need pranking equipment. After all, I am the heir of the Marauders. Plus I should really get some writing supplies for the school year." he told her, and turned to head into the Scribbulus Writing Implements shop but stopped dead in his tracks. The glass of the front window was broken, the door looked to be rotting, and no lights were on. He wasn't sure if the shop was looted or abandoned first, either by Death Eaters or someone else. Regardless, there was definitely no way he would be getting his supplies there. It was a stark reminder that Knockturn Alley wasn't the only dangerous place at Diagon any longer, and one of his hands balled up into a tight first, the whites of his knuckles showing. "Well, I guess it's on to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes after all." he said, angry that even a business that dealt in writing supplies wasn't safe these.

Luna looked at him curiously. She'd never heard anything about the Marauders before. "Harry, you can't just say something mysterious like being the heir of a group called the Marauders and not fill me in. Who are the Marauders and why are you their heir? I would think the twins would be the heirs of any pranking group around here." she said, waiting to get her answers. Seeing the shop in such a state had shocked her too, but she was much more curious about this group that Harry had mentioned out of nowhere. Ginny had never talked about it when discussing Harry with her, so he didn't think she knew what they were either.

Harry blushed a bit, realizing his mistake as he hadn't told her about that yet. He didn't mind filling her in though, having had much more challenging talks with her already. "Well, you see when my dad and Sirius were in school they had two other friends they spent a lot of time with. One was named Remus Lupin who was a werewolf, and the other was Peter Pettigrew. They all worked hard to become animagi so they could stay with Remus and help with his transformation during the full moon. Their nicknames were Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs after their Animagus forms. My father was a stag, thus prongs. Peter Pettigrew was a rat, thus Wormtail. Padfoot was a black dog that looked like the grim, and that was Sirius. Moony was of course Professor Lupin. Not only did they teach themselves to transform, they also created a map of Hogwarts, including the hidden passageways, that shows the name of every person in Hogwarts and where they currently are. The twins found it in detention, and gave it to me because they'd already memorized all the passages and figured I would need it more than they did. To be honest, it's been dead useful and I don't know what I'd do without the Marauder's Map. One of the best parts about it is, if you don't know how to open it properly than it insults whoever is trying to get inside like a joke parchment. Makes it look a lot less suspicious and incredible than it actually is." he explained.

Now Luna wasn't often surprised, but that story left her with her jaw hanging open. "That's...that's incredible, Harry. Animagus transformation is incredibly difficult, not to mention dangerous...and I can't even imagine how one would make a map like that. Any other secrets I should know?" she asked him. The level of work it would take to make something like that was probably well above Newt, she wouldn't even know where to start.

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "None that I haven't already told you about. Now come on, I'm itching to see if they have anything new in the shop since last I checked." he said, dragging her along so they could go and explore the twins' amazing shop. Most of it he'd seen before, but he did get some of the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder because that seemed dead useful if he ever needed to get out of a tight spot. Luna browsed for a while, settling on getting some extendable ears, a Weasleys' snowstorm, and a Happy Bubble Box. The snowstorm was a little snowglobe that had the shrieking shack in it, and supposedly produced snow when you sprayed the pump on top. The bubbles were simply magical bubbles that would change color and shape when you blew them. Of course the extendable ears would allow you to listen in on whatever conversation was happening where you threw the other end of the ear, working when you held up the opposite end to your own. Harry had used them before and said they were fantastic.

They paid and left, though the twins refused to charge Harry for anything because he had given them their startup funds. They went back to the Leaky Cauldron and flooed to The Rookery. Luna pulled Harry into a tight hug, smiling as she looked at him. "I don't know if things are going to change when we go back, but thank you so much. This summer has been perfect." she told him.

Harry was more than happy to hug her back, his fingers combing through her long, messy blonde hair as he did. "I think so too. I know things are going to change soon, but we just can't let them change this. No matter what happens I know we'll be there for each other." he said, pressing his forehead against hers and closing his eyes as he simply enjoyed being with her for a moment. After the moment passed he kissed her on the cheek. "I'll save a spot for you on the train, okay?" he asked, and Luna nodded. Reluctantly letting go of her, Harry left to go head towards the burrow and she headed up to her room. They'd been gone almost three hours, so he headed off in a bit of a rush. Usually Mrs. Weasley had them eating right around noon, and he didn't want to miss the meal. She would probably be curious why Remus wasn't joining them but he had thought about it and planned to say that he had something to do for Dumbledore and the Order that couldn't wait. Hopefully that would keep her from asking too many questions about dropping him off without stopping to say hello.

Luna put her things away and stared up at the painting of Harry on her ceiling, smiling to herself. "He's always full of surprises, I wonder what else I'll find out about him." she said to herself. Since she was bored and had nothing else to do, she tried to imagine the wildest possible secrets he could be hiding, entertaining herself before taking a short nap. All the excitement had kind of worn her out.

A/N: Hello all! I don't usually do the whole author's note thing but here goes nothing. Just wanted to say thank you to all my readers out there. This has officially become the longest story I've ever written this week and I've been really happy with the way it's progressing. For those of you who are getting tired of the fluff, I can assure you the angst and tragedy will becoming shortly. Before you destroy things though it usually helps to build them up a bit first, so that's what I've been attempting to do. Would love to hear what you all have to think of the story so don't be shy if you have something to say. I'll try to post again soon, Potterheads 3


	8. Chapter 8: Changes

Chapter 8: Changes

Luna had packed everything she needed the Hogwarts so that all she would have to do the morning of was hop in the floo with her father. When she woke up she felt the familiar stirring of excitement she always did at the start of a new school year. Not to mention she was more than a little excited to spend hours alone with Harry in a compartment on the train. They hadn't tried snogging yet and she wasn't sure if they would today, but even if they didn't they would have the time together which was the main thing anyway. Since she was traveling she put on a comfortable pair of muggle jeans and a light purple sweater that she loved. Her change of clothes for when they got close to Hogwarts was right on top of her luggage in a bag that she'd tied to the handle.

The day she went back to Hogwarts always had certain traditions that the Lovegood family followed, the first of them being a blueberry pancake breakfast. The pancakes were buttermilk, and there were the tiny sausage links that she loved to go with. She followed her nose downstairs and found a loaded plate waiting for her at the table. "Mmm, those look delicious. Thank you, daddy." she said, going over and giving him a kiss on the cheek before taking her seat and digging in. There was of course maple syrup and copious amounts of butter to go with the pancakes, and to drink she had orange juice. She was aware of the fact she was a tad bit spoiled, but she wasn't going to complain. They spoiled each other, went on adventures, and had all sorts of interesting theories they discussed about unusual creatures and what made them so difficult to find. She wouldn't trade what she had with her daddy for anything, not even Harry

Her father quickly joined her and although he didn't eat quite as fast as she did he packed in quite a few before leaning back in his chair with a satisfied smile. "You're very welcome dear, this is after all one of our most important traditions. We couldn't very well skip it, now could we?" he asked, laughing a little before looking at her. "I can't help but remember that you're now dating Harry Potter, and I still haven't had a proper conversation with the boy. Before you get on the train I'll need to have a talk with him." he said pointedly.

To be honest Luna had been putting this off because she was a little nervous about how Harry would react. They hadn't done anything to be ashamed of or embarrassed about, but aside from the Weasleys Harry didn't really have any examples of what a relationship should look like. Maybe Sirius had talked to him about this sort of thing before he passed, but she couldn't be sure and definitely didn't want to ask and bring up painful memories for him. She supposed she would just have to trust that he would make it through on his Gryffindor courage. "Sorry about that, I meant to have him come over to meet you properly but I just got distracted with the coming school year. Plus you know how protective Mrs. Weasley is of everybody, I'm lucky I got as much time with him as I did. I'm sure he won't mind chatting for a bit though, we agreed to meet up half past 10 on the platform." Luna told him. If everything went according to plan that should be plenty of time for them to have a little chat before they hopped on the train.

Xeno nodded and put the dishes in the sink, he could wash them later. "Alright, that sounds like a plan then. I'll try to go easy on him, so don't worry too much. Go ahead and get your things, dear. We should be leaving soon if we're going to be there on time." he said, throwing on his own robes to look a little more presentable and running a brush through his long hair. It didn't take long before they were both ready and they went to the floo. "Ladies first." he motioned, stepping back so she could go through ahead of him.

Luna nodded and stepped through with her trunk, going to The Leaky Cauldron as the only other floo she knew of near King's Cross was the Ministry atrium and that would be too busy to be worth the trouble. The fire flared green as she stepped through, and soon enough she was in the familiar little pub connected to Diagon Alley. Her father joined her shortly after, and they exited into the light rain of London as they headed towards King's Cross station. She noticed a handful of other wizarding families with children presumably heading to the same place, and she couldn't help but smile. While she loved spending time with her daddy there really was no place in the world like Hogwarts. Interesting classes, a magical castle, good friends, and one of the most powerful wizards in the world to watch over it, if not the most. There really was no other place that could compare in her opinion. She couldn't believe that including this year she only had three left inside as a student. Perhaps one day when she was older she could come back and teach. To be honest Luna hadn't thought about that possibility before, but she would definitely have to consider it now that she had.

They reached the station at about fifteen after ten and went through the magical section of wall to gain entrance to the platform. There were some families milling around, mainly ones with younger children who hadn't been on the train before and wanted to allow extra time. With nothing else to do they simply found a bench and waited, enjoying the past time of people watching as they did. There was one family in particular that had an adorable little toddler who kept looking at her. He had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes and she smiled, waving back at him when he gave her a shy wave and then hid behind his parent's leg. A part of her had always wanted a little brother or sister, but it simply hadn't been in the cards. She wasn't bitter about it really, just a little sad. As far as she knew she didn't have any family aside from her daddy, and even though he was great she'd always wondered what it would be like to live in a bigger family. Having a family like the Weasleys next to her was probably part of the reason why she had been so curious. However, it had made it easier to relate to Harry. He might have some family still but for all intents and purposes they'd never behaved like one and having grown up a bit lonely had helped her to understand some of what he went through. Not all by any means, but at least an idea.

While she was distracted and thinking about Harry of course he chose that moment to appear and set his trunk and cage down. "Luna, Mr. Lovegood." he said, holding out his hand to the older man. "Your daughter tells me you had some things you wanted to talk about with me." Harry told him. Having never dated anybody before he didn't really know what to expect. Luna assured him that her daddy wouldn't actually hurt him, but even he could see that the man cared for his daughter a great deal. "I haven't done anything wrong, have I?" he asked, a little nervous.

Xenophilius Lovegood laughed and looked over at Luna with an amused smile. "Not so far as I'm aware of, and I'm sure Luna would have told me if you had. Since neither of you have dated before I simply wanted to go over a couple of rules that I have. First and foremost the two of you are not to spend the night together. I don't care if it's with other friends or not, I know how teenagers can be and I don't want any grandchildren before either of you are ready to take care of one." he said, staring at Harry to drive the point home before moving on. "Second, I would ask that you speak to me first before buying her any expensive gifts. Small things I'm not worried about, but I don't want to worry about you buying your way into her heart." he explained. "My last rule is quite simple. If Luna says no to something, that's the final answer. No persuading her or guilting her into anything she's not comfortable with. Now, if you break any of those rules...I break you." he told Harry.

Harry did his best to listen closely to everything Luna's dad was telling him. At the end he couldn't help but gulp at the not so subtle threat, nodding. "I understand, sir. Your daughter is a very special person, and I wouldn't ever try to hurt her intentionally." he said, not sure what else there was to say on the matter. "Sir, if I do have questions about dating...would you mind terribly if I asked you? My godfather died, and I really don't have anybody I feel comfortable talking to about it. Luna says you're good with that sort of thing, though." he told him, hoping that it wasn't too awkward of a thing to say. Was it a bad idea to ask the father of your girlfriend for dating advice? Probably not the best one, but the only other person he'd even consider asking was Remus and he wasn't sure the man had all that much experience. Perhaps he was wrong, but he'd never heard him mention any ex-girlfriends or anything.

Luna let out a giggle when Harry asked that and Xeno rolled his eyes at her before smiling. "Of course you can ask me, Harry. Feel free to write or pay me a visit if you need to, I'm usually home working on the magazine." he told him, before turning to Luna. "Now you behave, and don't tease poor Harry too much. I know this is all fun and exciting, but you still have to keep your head about you." he said, before pulling her into a tight hug and kissing the top of your head. "Okay, that's enough for now, you two should go ahead and board before things start gettng too busy." he told them. Sure enough, more and more families were starting to arrive as the train's departure was fast approaching. It was good advice, and they were more than happy to take it. tSince Ron and Hermione had prefect duties, they were looking forward to some alone time together.

The two of them made their way onto the train, lugging their heavy trunks behind them. It didn't take long to find an empty compartment about halfway down the train since they were still there earlier than a lot of the students who had already been to Hogwarts a few times. They stored their trunks, and Harry opened the window before letting Hedwig out of her cage. "Go on ahead to Hogwarts, girl. I'll meet you there soon." Harry told her, petting her gently before watching her soar into the sky. "If I ever became an Animagus I would definitely want it to be an animal that could fly." he said, before looking over at Luna and smiling. "What about you? What kind of animal would you want to become?" he asked.

Now that was an interesting question, and Luna had to admit she'd never really thought about it before now. So, she took the time to do so...weighing her options in her head as she tried to think what would suit her best. "You know, I think I'd love to be a penguin. For one thing they are among the cutest creatures on this planet, but they're also really cool. They mate for life, and are extremely protective of their young. Plus they can dive underwater and hunt for fish, live on the ice, and look they are wearing little tuxedos. Yeah, definitely penguin for me." Luna answered, laughing a little because she knew it sounded rather silly.

"Well, I guess we'll have to make time to go visit a zoo next summer. Most of them have penguin exhibits where you could go and see them." Harry told her. The answer was just out there enough to really suit Luna, and after she'd said it he couldn't picture her being anything else. He could almost imagine her expression upon seeing them and picture her playing with them if given the opportunity. He would have to make an effort to do some research and find out which zoo near them had the best penguin exhibit for her to enjoy.

Before they could think of anything else to say Hermione and Ron found their compartment, and Hermione opened the door. Both her and Ron looked to be rather out of breath from hauling their trunks around. "Do you mind if we join you?" she asked them. "We'll have to go to the prefects' carriage for a meeting soon so we won't intrude on you for too long." Hermione said, waiting for their answer instead of just barging in. Ron clearly looked like he wanted to, but actually followed Hermione's lead and waited patiently for his friends to reply.

Luna and Harry looked at each before both of them shrugged. "Sure, why not? We're not to the snogging stage yet so you haven't interrupted anything." Luna told them both, her face a perfect deadpan. The comment caused Harry to blush a bright red, and Ron nearly choked as he tried to stop from laughing too hard. Harry was his best friend, but Luna always did the most unexpected things. Hermione gave him a hard smack on the back to help him out and stored her luggage before sitting down.

Hermione took the seat next to Luna, leaving the boys to sit next to each other. Her head swiveled between them, as if unsure who she wanted to talk to. "Okay, so how on earth did this happen? Harry leaves for two months, doesn't write at all, and then all of a sudden you two are dating. I mean...what?" she asked, looking at both of them and awaiting the answers she was looking for. "You weren't dating before his birthday party were you?" Hermione asked, clearly wanting some answers. She was used to knowing everything about Harry, and this had definitely caught her off guard. If anything she had thought Ginny might finally make a move on Harry, but clearly she had been wrong about that.

"It's like I told you, Hermione. They kept going off to spend time together while he was staying with us. Things just...well, they escalated woman." Ron said, giving her a 'well now you have it' look as he settled in next to his best mate. Apparently Ron thought he didn't need to add any more detail to that and Hermione just sighed and rolled her eyes before looking at Harry expectantly. All of them could tell that she wasn't going to let this go until she was satisfied with their answers.

Harry laughed, not sure he would have phrased it quite that way. "I mean, he's not far off really. We started spending more time together, and then one day we went to Ottery St. Catchpole. We had a lot of fun, and before we left the village Luna here kissed me out of the blue. By that time I'd already started to like her quite a bit, so I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes. We even talked to Mr. Lovegood about things before getting on the train and he seems okay with things for the most part if a little protective of her." he explained, not sure what else she wanted to know.

Hermione just nodded along as she listened to Harry, and when he finished she looked to Luna. She blinked, her sky blue eyes sparking a little with mischief as she met Hermione's gaze. "What? I spent some time with Harry and decided I wanted him. So I got him. It was quite simple, really. I don't understand why people say teen dating is so difficult." she told her. She then reached into her bag and pulled out her spectrespecs, slipping them on. "Oh, dear. You have loads of wrackspurts swarming you, Hermione." she informed her friend.

All Hermione could do was stare at Luna as if she'd grown a third head. "Dating? Simple? I wish I had your outlook on things, Luna." she said, slumping down into her seat and looking over at Ron. She almost made a comment saying he should take notes but decided against it. Before they knew it the train started rolling down the tracks and she looked over at Ron. "Come on, we need to go to our meeting. Have fun, you two. Try not to do anything I wouldn't do." she said, waving before she left, dragging a protesting Ron with her.

Once they left Luna moved over to sit next to Harry, laying so her head rested on his shoulder. "You know, I think I almost broke Hermione with that comment. Do you think she'll be okay?" she asked him quietly. She of course thought of Hermione as her friend too, and hoped she hadn't unintentionally hurt her feelings. It was obvious that she cared about Ron but wasn't willing to make the first move. Ron was either oblivious or didn't know where to start, so simply had chosen not to. It was a situation that was bound to take a turn for the worse in terms of their friendship if nothing changed, at least that was her assessment of things.

Harry thought that Luna was really sweet for asking and he nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure she'll be okay. She just had a rough time fourth year with Ron and Viktor Krum. Plus Ron still hasn't worked up the nerve to properly ask her out yet, so that hasn't helped things." Harry explained, running his fingers through her hair as he pulled her a little closer against him. "I think I'm going to look over this year's defense book on the way, can you pass it to me it's on the other side of the seat." he said, not wanting to get up from his comfortable position. It wasn't every day he could hold his girlfriend without being interrupted, after all. Best not to waste it.

Smiling, Luna reached over and got it for him, but she didn't hand it over yet. "Ah, ah, ah, you have to earn the use of this book. First, I require a kiss and a poem." she told him, hugging the book to her chest so he wouldn't be able to reach it. Well, at least not without getting rather inappropriate. She was appreciative of the fact that he wanted to study and respected that, but she also wanted some attention and thought it was a perfectly reasonable request. Clearly, her boyfriend didn't share that opinion, though.

Harry gaped at her, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Oh come on, isn't that a bit overkill?" he asked, looking at Luna who just gave him a blank stare. "Oh bloody hell, give me a minute..." he said, and got up to get some paper from his trunk. He didn't have a lot left from last year but he had a little and was planning on replenishing his supplies as soon as he could by sending Hedwig to Scrivenshaft's in Hogsmeade. Once he'd gotten paper, quill, and ink he started composing a short poem. He kept scratching out lines before eventually having something that he still thought was awful but hoped would be at least acceptable to his girlfriend.

"A girl with blue eyes ever lost in a dream  
Whose smile warms my heart like a sunbeam  
She pries away my secrets with kind words or a kiss  
Yet each day I spend with her is always spent in bliss"

By the time he finished reciting his poem he was blushing a bright red, but Harry pushed through it and leaned down to give her a soft kiss. Eventually he pulled away and leaned back into his seat, smiling like an idiot. "Good boy, you can have your book back now." Luna said, giving it to him before pulling a copy of the Quibbler out of her bag. They spent a good hour like that, leaning against each other while she read her magazine and he studied defense. Eventually though, Harry set the book aside and Luna looked over at him. "Something wrong?" she asked.

Harry shook his head, chuckling. "No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to focus on you for a while if that's alright. After all, how many other times during the year are we going to have a space like this all to ourselves?" he asked her. Looking at her, he reached out and cupped her cheek gently. "I was also kind of hoping we could practice our kissing. It's already wonderful, but there's always room for improvement don't you think?" he asked. He knew that it sounded cheesy but he didn't really care at the moment.

Luna looked into his eyes and blushed a faint pink before nodding. "It's sweet of you to ask before kissing me, but it's a fair bet most of the time that I'll probably say yes. Sometimes you just need to take what you want." she said, leading by example as she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him forwards into a kiss. This time it wasn't a light peck or a gentle kiss, she decided to let Harry know that she wanted him and felt that desire. After a few moments she bit his lip before pulling back, gasping for air. "See what I mean, Harry?" she asked.

Her aggressive tactics were not something he was expecting but Harry most definitely enjoyed it and simply nodded when she asked if he saw her point. "Wow, yeah...I think I see what you mean." he admitted. The kiss had left him reeling and it took him a minute to focus. "We'll definitely have to keep at it, but I think we're coming along quite nicely in that area." he said. Harry was about to lean in for another kiss when they were interrupted by their compartment open and Ron entering, followed by Hermione. He settled back into his seat, but grabbed Luna's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. He was starting to learn that little things like that were important to show that you cared, and was doing his best to keep at it because she was easily the best thing to happen to him in a long time, possibly ever.

"Why did Dumbledore make me a prefect? I really don't care enough to do a proper job of it." Ron whined, going and sitting across from Harry in the empty seat, Hermione following after with an annoyed look. It was plain as day that she really wasn't keen on his attitude towards his new position. Prefects were supposed to be role models for the younger students and while Hermione took that seriously she wasn't sure if Ron was ever going to.

"If you really feel that way you should tell McGonagall to find a replacement when we get there. Neville would do a great job if given the opportunity." she said, letting out a sigh as she sat next to Ron since everywhere else was taken. "Looks like you two have had a good train ride at least. We really should start changing into our robes though, before you know it we'll be there.

The girls got changed first, and then the boys after. Once everybody was all settled into their school clothes they looked at each other. "So, a new school year. Not to mention an open war with Voldemort. This year's going to be quite a bit different, isn't it?" Hermione asked, looking at her friends rather nervously as she bit her lip. Anybody who knew Hermione was aware that she struggled with big chances, but this one wasn't something they really had a choice about.

Harry took the opportunity to reach out and grab her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Yes, there are a lot of changes happening. But we have each other. As long as we stick together, I know we'll be alright." he told them, the words even helping convince himself a little as he spoke. Hermione was his best friend, and he was sure Luna would understand he was simply trying to support her. She was like a sister to him, and was easily the person he trusted most after Luna. Knowing how good Luna was at reading people, he was pretty certain she knew that was the way things were.

Ron nodded, sticking his hand in over the top of theirs. "We've survived more than any students have a right to already. Whatever comes our way, we'll be ready." he told Hermione, and gave Harry a nod. Ron could be lazy and temperamental sometimes, but when it came to sticking by his friends he usually did right by them. The incident in fourth year had been an exception, but he had eventually come round and hadn't let them down since. Hermione shot them both grateful smiles and nodded.

Luna was a little bit late, but she took off her spectrespecs and set her Quibbler down. "It's weird to see the golden trio in action, usually we have to make up stories about what goes on." she told them all, before smiling. "Friends are stronger together than apart, that's why I painted all of us together with the chain linking us. They can't break us." she said confidently, putting her hand in as well. While it may have been a bit of an unusual start, Luna got there in the end and Harry laughed a little, appreciating her quirks.

Hermione spoke last, happy that she had such great friends. "I know that with you all we'll make it through this okay. No matter what happens...better together." she said, looking at them all before feeling some of the tension and fear begin to ease up. She was still anxious about things, but it was at a more manageable level, down to something she could face.

The four of them simply stayed like that for a few moments, before Harry finally spoke up. "And so the Order of the Phoenix is reborn in our generation. Let the flame never go out." he said quietly. He let the words sink in before removing his hand and relaxing back into his seat, the others doing the same. After having that serious moment, they decided to have some fun and played some exploding snap for the remainder of their trip. Each of them won a few rounds and before they knew it they were rolling into Hogsmeade.

"It's almost time. I'll see you guys at the Gryffindor table, Luna and I will get our own carriage this year." he told them with a smile. Hermione and Ron just nodded. They had prefect duties to attend to after the feast, but would definitely sit with Harry like they always did. Harry got up and got down both his and Luna's trunks from the overhead compartments. Ron did the same for him and Hermione and they were soon all on their way.

Once they got off the train they split off from each other Luna and Harry picked a carriage. It was a pretty short carriage ride and got out, heading towards the main gates. Everybody was being screened by the teachers as they went through, supposedly to look for any dark objects. "I guess there really are a lot of changes." he told Luna, as they walked for their turn. One thing hadn't changed though, and that was Hogwarts feeling like home to him.

Luna was surprised that Hogwarts was going to such lengths, but she had to admit that it did make her feel a bit safer. "Yes, but it's still Hogwarts. Don't forget that you owe me an adventure in that invisibility cloak of yours." she reminded him with a wink. She had been looking forward to it for a while now and she definitely wasn't going to let him forget or wiggle out of it with an excuse.

"Luna, I'm excited about going on a late night adventure with you too, you know. It's not like it's some serious hardship for me that I'm trying to get out of." he told her. Harry leaned over and gave her a brief kiss before they stepped up to be screened by Professor Flitwick. Luna went first followed by Harry and they both passed without issue and began heading towards the great hall to watch the sorting.

"Good answer, Harry. I'll make you a proper boyfriend yet." she told him with a proud smile. Harry just laughed at that, causing Luna to break into a fit of giggles as well. Before they knew it they were at the great hall and Luna reluctantly let go of his hand. "See you later, Harry. Try not to get into any trouble without me there with you." she said, before breaking off to go towards the Ravenclaw table to watch the sorting while Harry went to join the Gryffindors. Ron and Hermione had saved him a seat and he slid in next to hem. Once they'd all found their places, Dumbledore stood up to begin his speech and so began another year at Hogwarts.

A/N: Please Read and Review!


	9. Chapter 9: Down the Rabbit Hole

Chapter 9: Down the Rabbit Hole

It had been about a week into their year at Hogwarts when Harry slipped Luna a note during lunch before going to the Gryffindor table. Curious, she opened it up to see what he wanted. She couldn't keep the grin from spreading as she read, because it was an invitation to go on the excursion after curfew with the cloak that he'd promised. He wanted her to meet her in front of the Room of Requirement at ten. While Luna had never intentionally snuck out, she did sleepwalk and tended to wake up in strange places. People hardly ever stopped her then, so she doubted she would have much issue getting out to meet him now. Taking out a pen of her own, she wrote 'sounds good' on the back and handed it to him on her way out to head to her next class.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on forever, most likely because she was so eager to get out that night. It got worse after she'd had dinner and was simply sitting in her room working on her essays for her classes. Eventually she gave up and decided to get ready for her outing with Harry. She grabbed a small purse and packed it with her extendable ears, the bubbles, and a sneakoscope she'd gotten herself last year. Once that was done she pulled out her sketchbook and started drawing a picture of Draco being hunted by Cornish pixies. It was rather amusing and served to pass the time, and she was rather pleased all things considered with the way it turned out. Luna shrugged and packed the picture with the other things she was bringing, sure Harry would get a kick out of it. When she checked the time she noticed it was 9:45, and she quietly stole out of her dorm and down the steps to the Ravenclaw common room.

Usually there were at least one or two older students in the common room either studying or making out at this hour, but luck was with her and she found it empty. Luna quietly went to the entrance and opened the door. Instead of walking out, she reached into her bag and pulled out the extendable ears. She tossed one end out the door and listened with the other for a full minute. When she was satisfied nobody was out there she wound it up and put it back in her bag before exiting herself. After that it was smooth sailing as she made her way to the seventh floor and found the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy. It was all too easy avoid detection so far, but she knew getting into and out of the castle would be the more challenging task. Checking her watch, she saw that she had five minutes to spare so she hid behind a suit of armor as she waited for her boyfriend to show.

Right on time Harry came strolling down the hallway under his invisibility cloak, his eyes scanning for Mrs. Norris. Filch he could outwit fairly easily, but Mrs. Norris was uncannily good at sniffing out student who were out of bed. Even while invisible he had yet to figure out a way to avoid her detection. Maybe if he found a good book on kneazles and half-kneazles it would explain to him what he was doing wrong, but that was a task for another day. Seeing nobody else there, he took off his cloak with a little swish. "Luna, are you here?" he called out quietly, hoping she was close enough to hear him. He knew it was a bit of a risk to just take it off, but they needed to get moving and he wanted her to know it was definitely him and not somebody else.

Luckily for Luna, Harry happened to be facing away from where she was hidden so she took that moment to play a small prank of her own on him. She stole forward and pressed her wand into the back of his neck. "Why, Mr. Potter, it seems you aren't as good at this as I thought. Maybe I should be the one leading this expedition." she told him. Before he could respond she moved her wand to his side. "Rictusempra." she whispered, grinning widely as Harry burst into laughter. He fell onto the ground clutching his sides and she smirked at him. It was the tickling charm and appeared to be quite effective when it landed. "Careful now Harry, you'll get us caught." she said with a laugh, before ending the spell and helping him up.

Harry took her hand and stood up, glaring at her. "You are cruel. Here I am trying to be nice and take you on an adventure and you ambush me." he said, pouting. Luna was unfazed and Harry let out a sigh before grabbing the invisibility cloak. "Come on, then. We need to get moving." he told her, before throwing the cloak around them. They had to be rather close together for the cloak to fit around both of them, but he didn't think she minded all too much by the way she was pressing back against him. It was distracting in more ways than one, and he was about to chide her for it when they both caught movement down the hall.

When the invisibility cloak slid over them like cool water Luna noticed a few things. The first was that this cloak seemed to be perfect, there were no seams or wearing of any kind on it. In fact it reminded her of the tale of the three brothers, and the cloak that the youngest had gotten from death. She knew her father believed the Deathly Hallows to be real, but she'd always been undecided. Maybe she could ask Harry to show it to him some time to see what he'd thought. The second and more important thing she noticed was Draco Malfoy heading to the Room of Requirement just before they turned to walk down the hall. They waited patiently while he walked in front of it imagining where he wanted to go before disappearing inside. She waited until the door closed before finally speaking "Harry, do you think he's up to something?" she asked him, not having forgotten the way he'd acted at Borgin and Burke's a few weeks ago. "Perhaps he's just using it to get some space from his dorm mates, but if that's the case why wait until after curfew to go?" she asked.

Harry stopped and turned to look at her, frowning as he thought. "Probably, although it could be as simple as him wanting a place to be alone. We can figure out that mystery another time though, I have something else planned. Besides, whatever he's doing we won't be able to get inside while he's in there anyways." he told her quietly, and Luna nodded. They carefully started making their way through Hogwarts, taking shortcuts where they could. Soon enough they were at the entrance to the school, and Harry bent down to check something on the ground. Smiling, he pulled open the door that had been held cracked open and pocketed a small rock. He had set it there earlier in hopes nobody would notice it, and it served its purpose in keeping the doors from closing fully. "Now we go to the Whomping Willow." he said, and they kept the cloak over they slipped out of the castle, Harry replacing the rock as he went so they could get back in.

Now Luna was not the type of girl who got too scared to try things. However, she did have enough sense not to go in over her head most of the time and when she heard him mention the Whomping Willow she started to get nervous. Was he going to dare her to try and touch the trunk or something else, just to see if she would. "Harry...umm, I know you planned something but, why exactly are we going to the Whomping Willow?" she asked him. She wasn't going to do something stupid simply because she was dared to or anything like. That was how you got hurt. She figured that when you were out after curfew, getting an injury was the last thing you wanted and the tree was most definitely deadly.

Turning around, Harry couldn't help laughing at the anxious look on her face. "Don't worry, we aren't doing anything stupid. It's not the Whomping Willow we're after, it's what's underneath it." he informed her. They reached the terrifying tree and he made sure to stop them well outside of the tree's reach. "Just watch." he said, before finding himself a loose twig. "Wingardium Leviosa." he said firmly, doing the proper swish and flick, smiling as it floated up. He carefully floated it over to the base of the tree and moved it under the gap in the roots. It took a few tries but he eventually got it to hit the knot that made the tree go still. With that done, he dropped the spell and smiled widely. "Shall we?"

Luna's jaw dropped open when she saw him cause the entire tree to be stunned. "How did you know to do that?" she asked, following him as he began to walk forwards. Harry ignored the question for the moment as he proceeded forwards, getting on all fours as he started climbing through the tunnel that was beneath the tree. "Harry, where on earth are you taking me?" she asked, following him. The tunnel was rather a tight squeeze, and it muffled any answer he tried to give. Eventually they came out to a small set of steps leading to a door that Harry opened, walking into the room beyond it. She had to admit that she wasn't expecting anything like this. The paint was peeling on the walls and there were what looked to be bloodstains in places. All of the windows were boarded up, making her think of a prison. "Harry...I don't like it here." she said, shivering a little.

Harry didn't answer until he'd taken a seat on an old, dusty couch. "My third year, your second, was one that led to some interesting revelations. Sirius Black, my godfather and thought to be murderer of Peter Pettigrew and betrayer of my parents to Voldemort was actually innocent. He did come to Hogwarts, but he wasn't after me. You see, he was after Pettigrew. The man had escaped, faking his death by turning into a rat and leaving his finger behind. He posed as Ron's rat, Scabbers for about twelve years." he explained. "This building, the Whomping Willow, and the tunnel weren't always here, it was put here to give Remus Lupin somewhere safe to go during the full moon when he would transform. That's why this place is so torn up, and why there are bloodstains in places. I know it's rather worn and messy, but with some work...well, I was hoping this could kind of become our secret hideout. What do you think?" he asked her.

Luna had known of course that Sirius was innocent, but as for the rest of the details she hadn't heard a lot of it before. It was hard to think of a tree being planted on the grounds just to give a werewolf who went to school here a place to go, but she could see Dumbledore doing it. "If we're going to make this a secret hideout we'll definitely have to redo the interior, but I think it could work." she admitted, looking at him curiously. "It's called the shrieking shack, though. Just what do you plan on doing to me in here, Harry?" she asked, moving a little closer. "Are you planning my murder, or trying to make me shriek in other ways?" she asked, moving closer and letting her hands wander across his chest. She knew she was pushing it a little with the teasing, but he was her boyfriend and it was her job to make him squirm a little. Plus it was fun trying to see just what he was willing to do, a bit of information gathering that she was sure would prove helpful in the future.

Hearing his girlfriend talk, he felt his heart began to pound as he blushed. Instead of replying normally, Harry took the initiative and pulled her close, arms wrapping around her as he gave her a fierce kiss. He even bit her lip at the end of it and tugged lightly before pulling back with a grin. "Why Luna, are you suggesting we christen the place somehow? To make it ours or mark our territory as it were." he specified, very interested to hear her response. He knew they weren't ready to go all the way yet, but that didn't mean there weren't other things for them to do.

Luna rubbed her lip, grinning and laughing a little. "Mmm, you're coming along quite nicely I like how bold you were." she told him, before shaking her head. "No, I don't think we're ready for anything like that yet. We can make it ours by painting, fixing things, maybe adding some decent furniture." she told him, patting him on his cheek. "With a lot of work who knows, maybe we could even make this a place for a romantic dinner. If you were to cook for me, who knows what would happen." she told him, intentionally being vague about it and giving a cute little shrug.

Harry listened to her, nodding as he did. He knew that it would take a lot of work, but it would definitely be worth it to have a place of their own. The only other people who knew about it had either graduated or died, aside from Ron and Hermione that is. Unless things changed, though, he didn't really see Ron or Hermione sneaking down here. "There was one other surprise I had for you." he told her, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the silver Raven with the Sapphire eyes. "I saw you looking at it when we were there, so I went back for it. I know it's expensive, but...I don't know, there was just something about it that seemed perfect for you. Will you take it?" he asked, holding it out to her carefully. While he was aware Xeno had told him not to buy her expensive things, Harry could tell that Luna had been drawn to this item like he had been to the bowl in Ottery St. Catchpole. As long as he didn't make a habit of it, he didn't think it would be that big of a deal.

When he pulled out the Raven Luna could barely stop from staring. Her hands shook slightly as she reached out to take it from him, but she managed it and pulled it close to her chest. "Thank you, Harry. Of course I'll take it." she said. Luna stared at the Sapphire eyes when all of a sudden they flashed a bright white, and just like a marionette with its strings cut she collapsed to the floor. The last thing she saw before falling unconscious a glimpse of a stone door that had snakes carved into it. Harry didn't have time to do anything aside from brace her head before it hit the floor.

Seeing Luna suddenly collapse after a flash of light left Harry shocked and angry, uncertain on what had caused it and what on earth he should be doing to help her. He took the Raven away and pocketed it, because that had seemed to be the trigger and then began the long, arduous task of pulling Luna back through the tunnel. It had been challenging enough crawling through it, but going on his back while dragging his girlfriend was enough to leave him panting for breath every ten to fifteen feet. It had to have taken at least an hour, but thankfully Luna was light enough that he was able to pull her all the way through the tunnel. He went up and punched the knot before pushing her up ahead of him. Harry followed after she was out, and then slowly carried her back to the castle, thoroughly worn out. "This is all my fault, I should have asked somebody to test that thing for dark or unusual magic before giving it to her. I mean, I got it at Borgin and Burke's for Merlin's sake." he said to himself, feeling incredibly guilty for his lack of care.

Luna still hadn't woken by the time he'd carried her into the castle, and he knew that he was going to need help. Sucking it up, he took her straight to the hospital wing, knocking on the door. "Madam Pomfrey?" he called, hoping she was there. He knew she stayed there at night when there were patients, but he didn't know if she had other quarters for when the Hospital Wing was empty. He knew he would probably get detention if not worse for carrying an unconscious student to the hospital wing after curfew, but none of that mattered right now. The only thing that was important was making sure Luna got the help she needed.

It took a few moments, but a sleepy Madam Pomfrey came to the door in some striped pyjamas. "What is it, Mr. Potter? Why on earth are you out of bed?" she asked him, before she finally noticed who he was carrying and letting out a gasp. "Is that Miss Lovegood? Get her inside, quickly now." she said, shutting the door behind him and helping him carry Luna to a bed. Madam Pomfrey immediately jumped into action, running some scans with her wand and making notes as she went. She held her eyes open and checked to see if they were responsive to light, which they were. There didn't seem to be any real symptoms and she seemed to behave as she would just if she were asleep. "How did she come to be like this, Mr. Potter?" she asked him.

It took Harry a moment for his brain to process Madam Pomfrey's question, he'd just been so concerned about Luna. Once he did Harry pulled out the silver raven with the sapphire eyes and set it carefully on the bedside table. "I gave her this and she was looking at it, before I knew it the raven's eyes flashed white and she just collapsed." he explained, at a loss as to why it had happened. "I'll admit, I don't really know a lot about the object. It was in Borgin and Burke's and Luna seemed to like it, so I bought it as a surprise. We...we started dating recently, you see." he said, before burying his head in his hands. "Is...is she going to be alright?" he asked, the panic starting to really set in as a few tears began to fall. If Madam Pomfrey couldn't figure out a way to help the only alternative he knew of was St. Mungo's. If they had to do that he knew her father would be furious with him, which he probably already would be when he found out. This was such a mess, and he promised to himself never to give any more gifts if he wasn't aware of how they worked first.

Madam Pomfrey reached over, squeezing his hand firmly. "As far as I can tell, yes she'll be just fine. However, this object...I would recommend having Professor Dumbledore take a look at it. Whatever magic it has it's old, and clearly quite powerful." she told him. "Also...for being out of bed past curfew I am taking fifty points from Gryffindor. You will also be serving detention with me every Saturday for the next month. Luna has clearly already paid a price, so I'll go easy on her this time." she said, looking at him sternly. "Look, I know you were trying to do something nice but what you did was incredibly dangerous. We're lucky she only seems to be asleep after you purchased an item from a known purveyor of dark goods and then gave it to her. You need to think things through, because there may come a time where I won't be capable of patching you or your friends up." she told him seriously. She was fond of the boy, but he was far too reckless and that she was not a fan of.

Hearing he'd be losing his Saturdays as well as so many points was a blow, but he nodded. "I'll do whatever I have to, just make sure she gets better. And believe me, seeing this happen was a wake-up call. I won't be doing anything so careless again, Madam Pomfrey." Harry said quietly. He stared at her unmoving form for a moment before looking back at the healer. "May I stay? Or do I have to go back to bed?" he asked. He really didn't want to leave Luna after what had happened, especially because he felt responsible for having gotten the raven in the first place.

Madam Pomfrey's heart reached out to the boy and she nodded. "Aye, you can stay. I'll make us both some tea and grab some biscuits for you to snack on. You've had a rough night, and right now all we can do is wait until she wakes up and tells us what she experienced. Now put that statue away until we can get it properly examined." she told him, before leaving him alone with Luna as she went to get some tea and biscuits for the both of them.

The comforted him a little and he nodded, grabbing Luna's hand and holding onto it tight. At least he would be here to apologize properly when she woke up. He really hoped she wouldn't be too angry with him, but he wouldn't blame her if she was. A few tears began to slip down his cheeks as he squeezed her hand a little tighter. If he lost her because of this, he didn't know if he'd ever get over her. She was the most incredible person he'd ever met, and he'd failed her. "Merlin, I'm so sorry. I just wanted to do something special, and instead I put you in danger. I...I don't think I can forgive myself." he said quietly. Harry of course got no response, as Luna was still out cold. More tears began to fall as he reached up to stroke her hair gently, and he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Please come back to me." he whispered.

Madam Pomfrey came with the tea and biscuits but saw Harry with Luna and instead chose to simply leave them where he could get some if he wanted before going back to bed. It was obvious to her that Harry cared a great deal about Miss Lovegood and was having a private moment that she didn't want to interrupt. She knew that him talking to her like that was a good sign, but it still broke her heart to see. She really hoped the two of them would be able to work it out. From what she knew of them both, they would be a good match.

Not surprisingly, Harry didn't get a response from Luna and he sighed before settling back into his chair. Even though he was still dreadfully worried, both the physical and emotional exhaustion began to take their toll and he gradually slipped off to sleep. It had hit him so fast he hadn't even taken his glasses off to set them on the side table. All that was left was to see what the morning would bring for the young couple.

A/N: Please read and review! This is the first real twist in the story and I'd love to hear your thoughts.


	10. Chapter 10: The Raven

Chapter 10: The Raven

Harry had tried to stay up as long as he could by Luna's beside, but eventually fell asleep in his chair. Because he was so anxious he had horrible dreams, waking up more than once and looking at her to make sure she was still breathing alright. They didn't really know what the Raven statue had actually done, and that unknown aspect to this really bothered him. Eventually the morning sun started to fill the room and Madam Pomfrey came out with a simple breakfast for them. While Harry ate she checked Luna's vitals and ran a few scanning spells over her before tucking in herself. "As far as I can tell she's still fine physically, whatever it did to her was probably mental." she explained. "Aside from taking her to get checked out at St. Mungo's I'm not sure there's much to be done. I think just waiting for her to wake up and seeing how she does is all we should be doing at the moment." she instructed him. Doing nothing was sometimes what was necessary, even though that was probably the hardest thing to do when worrying about a loved one.

Nodding, Harry took a rag and put it over the statue before taking hold of it. He was careful not to touch it directly so he would hopefully avoid a repeat performance of last night but with him in Luna's place. "Do you think Dumbledore would be up yet? If anybody could figure out what's going on it would probably be him. I want to be here when she wakes up, but at the same time I don't think I can take simply sitting in that chair any longer. Hopefully Dumbledore will be able to help me give her some answers on why this happened." Harry said, biting his lip in worry. Seeing her like this because of a gift he'd given her was eating him up inside. She wouldn't blame him, but he had given her a gift from a dark shop without finding what the item did. That would always bother him, even if she turned out perfectly fine in the end. He was learning the hard way that mistakes could have terrible consequences, and he had to do his best and try to learn from them.

Madam Pomfrey thought for a moment, before nodding. "I'd say he probably is. Dumbledore has been an early riser for as long as I've known him. If I remember the password is fizzing whizbees now." she said, smiling a little at seeing him so determined to help however he could. "Go on, I'll keep a good watch while you're gone." she assured him. The healer always took good care of her patients, and considering she still didn't know much about why this had happened to Miss Lovegood she would be doubly sure to keep a close eye. Hopefully when the poor girl woke up they'd be able to figure some things out with some gentle questioning of what exactly had happened. Although, there was an equal chance that it would remain a mystery and they would never learn exactly why the interaction between the her and the statue had behaved the way it had.

Harry hesitated for a moment before getting up and stretching, hearing a few pops from his back where he'd slept in the chair. "I know you will, I'll be back as soon as I can. Thanks for everything as always." he told her, grabbing a piece of bacon to eat as he walked out and headed towards the statue of the stone gargoyle. Having been there a few times in his years hear he knew right where to go. "Fizzing whizbees." he said aloud, smiling in relief as the statue moved, the staircase appearing as it did. He was glad he didn't have to keep guessing different candies until it opened. Knocking firmly on the door, Harry waited for a moment before speaking. "Professor Dumbledore, it's Harry Potter. There's something important I need to talk about with you." he told him, hoping he was close enough to hear. He was trying his best to remain calm, but after last night his emotions were frayed and his patience was starting to wear a bit thin.

Dumbledore heard the voice of one Harry Potter calling and finished some of the paperwork he was doing before going to open the door. His clear blue eyes were twinkling like they always did, giving Harry the sensation he was being looked through when they focused on him. "Come on in, Harry. I was actually hoping to talk to you myself as chance would have it." he said, walking in and sitting at his desk. As usual, it was covered in all of the odd instruments and trinkets whose purpose he could only guess at. If he had woken Dumbledore up Harry certainly couldn't tell, as far as he could see he looked much the same as he always had save for his hand. The blackened fingers on his hand had been there when he'd picked him up to take him to the Burrow and see Professor Slughorn as well, though he had yet to tell him what had happened.

Harry took the seat across from him before setting the raven on the table and removing the rag from it. "I acquired this artifact at Borgin and Burke's after Luna wanted to search the shop for curious items. She told me that the statue had seemed to call out to her, and the tag says this supposedly belonged to Helena Ravenclaw. We didn't purchase it that day, but later I went back and got it for her as a surprise gift and when I gave it to my girlfriend Luna as a gift its eyes flashed white before sending her into a sort of coma or something, I'm not really sure. Madam Pomfrey says there's nothing physically wrong with her, but she still hasn't woken up. Do you think you could figure out what happened?" he asked hopefully. He was aware that it wasn't much to go on, but he was hopeful that if anybody could help him shed light on the subject it would be the old Headmaster.

Dumbledore nodded as he listened to Harry's story. "Well, we won't know until I try. Let me see what I can find out." he said, smiling as he pulled out his wand and began to cast spells over the unusual object. He worked for a full ten minutes before finally sitting back in his chair, a frustrated expression on his face. "That, my boy, is something from another age. As best I can tell, it's meant to warn whoever touches it of impending danger by projecting an image into their brain. From what you've told me, I'm guessing she reacted poorly to the intrusion in her mind and out of reflex it shut itself off to prevent any damage." he explained. He frowned before giving a shrug. "I don't think there's anything we can do except wait for her to wake up. Although, I suppose if this item did belong to Helena Ravenclaw we could ask the Grey Lady directly. The only thing is, she doesn't take too kindly to most students. More often than not she'll just avoid people who chase after her until they leave her alone." he said with a sigh. It was an idea, but he wasn't sure if it would be at all successful.

Harry was at least glad Professor Dumbledore had found out something, and nodded to himself. "I suppose that makes as much sense as anything else." he told him. For a few moments he considered going after the Grey Lady, but when Dumbledore explained about how standoffish she was he figured they would have a better chance of going with Luna. If anybody had the heart of a Ravenclaw it was her, and he was hopeful that Rowena's daughter would be able to recognize that and want to help on her own. "Okay, thanks for your help. What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked curiously. Usually when Dumbledore wanted to discuss something it turned out to be rather important.

Professor Dumbledore clasped his hands in his lap before leaning forward. "Well, I was hoping that you and I could delve into Tom Riddle's past together in hopes of finding a way to defeat him. I've gathered a collection of memories about him, and I would like us to view them in the pensive together and discuss what we see." he explained. "You see, I think I figured out how he escaped death, but I can't be sure as to the method because of a tampered memory." he explained. It was obvious that he was rather frustrated with the problem he'd hit, although what that had to do with him he didn't know yet.

Getting to know what drove Voldemort made sense. Know your enemy as yourself and all that. "I think that's a great idea, just let me know when you want to start, sir. I really should be getting back to Luna though, I want to be there when she wakes up. After all, it's my fault she encountered the Raven in the first place." he said, putting the rag back over the silver statue before getting up to leave. "Thanks again sir, I know I can always come her for help when I need it. Hopefully it won't be too often, but my life just never seems to accept being boring and safe." he said with a dry chuckle before exiting and heading back towards the hospital wing. His attempt at humor had fallen a little flat because he'd had a flash of an unconscious Luna in his mind's eye. He was trying to be positive, but it was rather difficult at times.

When he got back to the hospital wing he saw Luna sitting up and eating breakfast, talking to Madam Pomfrey and seemingly perfectly alright. Harry let out a breath he'd been holding and set the raven on the table before going over and giving her a hug. "I was so worried." he said quietly, holding her tight for a good long while before finally letting go and taking a seat so she could get back to her meal. Madam Pomfrey took that as her cue to go and went into the adjoining room to give them some privacy. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Luna nodded, touched by his concern. "Yes, I'm doing much better. Although, I did see a flash of a round door that had serpents carved into it before I passed out. I think something bad is going to happen there." she told him, having no idea where that place might be herself. She was shocked to see had a look of recognition appear in his eyes, and she cocked her head to the side. "Do you know where that place is, Harry?" she asked him, looking at him. The look on his face was telling her that he knew exactly where the place with the door was. Judging by how white he had turned, he didn't seem all too pleased at the prospect of going back there either.

"I think so, it sounds a lot like the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets that I found in second year." he explained, biting his lip as he thought about what it could mean. "Dumbledore examined the Raven and said he thinks it gives warnings about where danger might be coming from. If somebody is going to use the Chamber of Secrets, well...I would have to assume it would be Voldemort. He's the only other parseltongue that I know about." he explained. If he was using it, there was a chance it was granting him access to the grounds. And if he could get through, that would mean he could bring others with him. A chill went down his spine at the thought, and he thought about it. "Well, if it's a warning that should mean the danger is yet to appear. Perhaps we can find out whatever is being plotted and put a stop to it before it gets too dangerous." he reasoned.

Luna could see that her news had really concerned him and she reached over, squeezing his hand. "It's okay, thanks to what I saw we have advance notice and can tell Dumbledore. I'm sure he can think of something to make things safer for us here." she told him. "I'm just disappointed our little excursion was cut short, I was having a lot of fun. Maybe just leave the Raven statue at home next time." she suggested, letting out a bit of a laugh.

Harry was relieved that she was so positive about things and nodded, leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sure we can make time for another outing. Hopefully this time I won't get caught. Detentions every Saturday for a month with Madam Pomfrey." he said with a sigh. It especially hurt because he had been planning most of their practices for Saturday with the Quidditch team. Now he would have to check and see what other times were available, and most likely they wouldn't be convenient since he was sure the other teams would have booked it pretty full by now.

She could tell Harry was rather annoyed with the detentions and patted his hand. "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time this year to do what we want. Have you decided when you're holding tryouts for the team? I know Ginny and Ron are eager to get out on the Pitch." Luna said, and Harry couldn't help rolling his eyes a little at that remark. It was clear he thought that calling them eager was putting it far too mildly.

"Oh, that's understating it by a good margin. Ron won't stop bugging me about it and since we have most of our classes together and share a dorm I never get a break. I'm looking forward to the season too, but I'm trying not to be quite so fanatical about it." Harry told her, chuckling. "It'll be good though, I know Ron's a good keeper if he can just keep his nerves under control. Ginny will be an excellent Chaser, she really has a knack for sending tricky shots." he explained. He knew Luna wasn't the biggest Quidditch fan but she at least knew enough about the game to hold a conversation about it.

"I'm sure they'll both do great. Have you any idea who the beaters are going to be, though? It's a big hit losing Fred and George they were a great team up there." she said, causing Harry to let out a sigh. Those two had been a terror on the Quidditch Pitch, they hadn't just been coordinated it was like they'd been playing while reading the other's thoughts. Chances of seeing a pair of beaters like that again any time soon at Hogwarts was probably next to nothing.

"To be honest, that has me stumped too. We'll probably just have to take whoever we can get and do our best to get them up to snuff before our first game. You can't replace the twins easily overnight, they were a force to be reckoned with out there." Harry told her. Part of him was nervous that he wouldn't be captain material, and the team would start collapse under his rule. Sure, he was a fairly good seeker but as far as coaching, tactics and strategy went he was well aware that he had a lot of catching up to do.

Luna nodded, smiling as she saw Madam Pomfrey coming back and handing her the now empty tray of food. "Well, Miss Lovegood as far as I can tell there's nothing else wrong with you so you are free to go. Just be careful with that statue, it may have been a one time thing but we still don't know how it works so it's best to leave it be. If you have any unusual symptoms come back immediately. There's a chance we may still need to have St. Mungo's take a look at you to see if they can be of any more help. However, I don't think you'll need it so long as nothing else happens. So stay safe, the both of you. I do not want to see you back here except for detention, Mr. Potter. Do you hear me?" she asked, getting a nod from him in return and she smiled. "Well, off you go then." she told them both.

Smiling, Luna popped up from the bed and looped her arm through Harry's when he stood up as well. "Thank you, I'll definitely sure to be more careful with it from now on. Hopefully I won't have to be seeing you again soon." she said. Madam Pomfrey was a great person, but if she was back here than it would mean either her or somebody else had gotten injured again and she definitely didn't want that. There was plenty to worry about already with everything that was going on at the moment. Making sure to thoroughly wrap the statue before picking it up she realized she would simply have to carry it back to her dorm since she didn't have her bag with her at the moment.

As Madam Pomfrey headed back to her room Harry and Luna left. They finally reached the place where they would have to separate to go back to their respective common rooms and paused, looking at each other. "Luna...I'm so sorry. I should never have given you a gift like that when I didn't even know what it did. This was all my fault." he said, the frustration with himself audible in his tone.

Luna simply reached over and cupped his cheek. "Oh, Harry you were only trying to do something nice for me. It was my own curiosity that found the Raven in the first place. Accidents happen. We all got away without serious harm being done, so let's just try to be more careful in the future about things like this." she told him, before leaning over and giving him a soft kiss on his cheek. "Last night was still a lot of fun, nothing will ruin that for me." she told him quietly.

Harry blushed a little and nodded, smiling. "I guess you're right about that." he said, knowing that accidents happened. He'd been prone to more than his fair share of them, and even though he could try to blame it all on outside forces he knew some of it was his own fault. Like when he tried to outfly a dragon in the Triwizard tournament. While he may have felt it was his only option, it had still probably been the most reckless thing he'd ever done. "Remember, just try not to touch the statue directly and I doubt it will bother you." he told her. Once he began to think about the statue again, he remembered what Dumbledore had told him about the Grey Lady. "When I talked to Dumbledore and explained that there was a tag saying who it belonged to he recommended we see the Grey Lady. If it's hers she'll know, and there might be a chance she can tell you how it works or why it reacted the way it did when you touched it." he told her. Seeing her again had been such a relief that it had nearly driven the suggestion from the Headmaster out of his mind.

Luna smiled and pocketed it before turning to walk away. "Try not to blame yourself too much, Harry. What's done is done." she told him seriously. The mention of the Grey Lady had her smiling and she nodded. "That sounds like a great idea, I'll try and find her sometime. She's a bit skittish, but I've talked to her a time or two in the past so maybe she won't mind too much." she said, chuckling before she waved and started to skip down the corridor. "See you later, Harry." she called back to him. She was in desperate need of a good shower after crawling through that tunnel like she had. Once she'd gotten all the dirt off and tidied up she could start on some of the school work she had. It was her O.W.L. year and the teachers were not being shy about handing out more course work than they had last year to start getting them ready for their exams.

* * *

`(OvO)´

After her shower Luna felt loads better, and worked on her essays until it was time for class. Since she'd had lunch in the hospital wing she could skip breakfast at the Great Hall and wait until lessons started to join her classmates. Honestly, it was a welcome distraction after her unusual night that she still hadn't gotten many answers about aside from Dumbledore's best guesses. She had just enough time to finish her Transfiguration essay and rolled up her parchment neatly once the ink had dried. As soon as classes were over for the day she was determined to hunt down the Grey Lady, and after thinking about it she thought her best chance was to do it alone. Grabbing her things, she set off to try and focus on her lessons in hopes that doing so would make the day fly by faster for her. Her first lesson of the day was Potions with Slughorn, and thankfully that was one subject that required constant attention to detail to keep things running smoothly. As soon as she found her seat and was instructed on what they'd be doing, she got down to work and let the rest of the world fade into the background.

At lunch Luna thought about it slipping Harry a note explaining why she wanted to do this alone, but she came to the conclusion she could always fill Harry in on the details of her encounter later. It's not that she didn't want him by her side, but the ghost was difficult enough in the best of times to engage and she was not taking chances. She was probably the only person who had any idea of what the Raven was supposed to do and how it functioned, unless of course the shop had been lying about its origins. If that was the case, she would be kept well and truly in the dark, the mere thought of it making her skin craw. Luna could accept not knowing about everything, but this was starting to get rather personal between her and the strange statue. She didn't want to throw it away or return it to the shop, but if they couldn't figure out why it had done what it did there was no telling if it could do it again or something worse.

While she'd been mulling things over and eating lunch time had quickly passed her by and she quickly grabbed her things when she noticed everybody else was starting to exit the hall. Harry came over and picked up her transfiguration that had fallen onto the table. Luckily for her the food had already disappeared so she wouldn't have to clean it off. "Thanks Harry. I really need to get going soon I have Transfiguration next and you know how McGonagall is about punctuality." she told him, double checking to make sure she had the essay she'd finished early as well before giving Harry a brief smile. "I really do feel fine. There's just a lot do with it being my O.W.L. year and all." she said, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You're sweet, but stop worrying so much." she said, knowing it was easier said than done.

Harry looked like he wanted to argue the point but the kiss on his cheek and her referring to him as sweet served to distract him as he smiled. "Okay, I'll try to relax. You also need to make sure not to overdo it though, we don't know if what happened is going to have any weird side effects or not. Knowing that they both had to get back to class, he did his best to put on a brave face and gave her a hug. "Well, I guess I'll see you later then." he said, reluctantly letting go before making his way to class.

She appreciated the concern, but Luna was still set on going to talk to the Grey Lady alone once she had the time to do so. Madam Pomfrey had cleared her and she was determined to get her answers. With a spring in her step, she set off towards Transfiguration and hoped she wouldn't be late. It was cutting it closer than she usually did, but she managed to sneak in on time and handed in her essay before taking her seat. With her standard level of efficiency McGonagall commenced the class shortly after and she soon found herself with no time to think about anything other than the difficult spellwork. She loved Transfiguration, but it was definitely complicated and it would not do if she let her mind get distracted from what she was doing. Today they were taking a break from their vanishing work and doing the opposite by conjuring inanimate objects. Since it was their first day she wasn't expecting many of them to manage it, but that wouldn't stop her from putting forth her best effort.

By the end of the lesson Luna had yet to produce any results, but she remained hopeful that the essay they'd been assigned on the theory would help her get a grasp of it. She would definitely make sure to practice on her own and see if she could make any progress before their next lesson. Now that the lesson was over though, she was free until dinner time and made her way to the third floor corridor that had been out-of-bounds in Harry's third year. These days it was simply an empty part of the classroom that had abandoned classrooms lining the halls. She found a spot near the light of a torch above her on the wall and set her things down beneath it. Carefully taking out the cloth-covered raven statue she set it down and unwrapped it. Once that was done she took out a fictional book about a dragon trainer who got lost in the wild. The book was a bit silly but she found it enjoyable, and she let herself get lost in the story while she waited for the Grey Lady to hopefully appear. From what she knew of the ghost she disliked people, and she reasoned her best chance of being able to talk with her was by picking a place where it would be just the two of them.

It took about an hour before her plan paid off, and she saw the Grey Lady floating towards with a look of surprise on her face. As she got closer, the look changed from surprise to one of fear as she took in the uncovered raven statue next to Luna. "Child, where did you come by that artifact? Until now I thought you were one of the few in Ravenclaw that had some sense left." she said, looking at her as she waited for an answer. The ghost didn't like people much, but after having observed some of what Luna had endured she had gained a grudging respect for her. However, that wouldn't stop her from speaking her mind and she continued to stare until she got her answer.

Luna took the backhanded compliment with a dry laugh, and she stood up so she didn't feel quite so towered over by the ghost. "It was given to me as a gift from my boyfriend. We discovered it in a shop in Knockturn Alley. The statue's magic seemed to call out to me but it was expensive so I left it there. Little did I know he had gotten it for me and gave it to me as a gift recently. He didn't mean any harm by it, but something strange happened. Which is why I came here in hopes we could talk." she explained. Normally Luna's eyes had that dreamy quality that made her seem like her mind was somewhere else, but right now her blue eyes were calculating as she looked at the ghost. They were a piercing blue that would have made most people squirm under their intensity, but the Grey Lady was far from most people and held her own easily. "What do you know of it?" she asked. While she was aware that asking such a direct question was taking a gamble, she knew of nobody else who could give her this information and she was not going to simply wait and hope that the ghost's kindness would lead her to divulge what she knew.

An unexpected laugh escaped the Grey Lady's lips and it seemed to be genuine. She regarded the girl before her with equal intensity as she replied, trying to read her intentions. "Oh child, it's been ages since anyone has dared talk to me so. You have bravery and a sharp wit, but do not test me again. Now...that statue is like nothing else I've ever encountered. It was gifted to me by an acquaintance of my mother's. Once I started to get a glimpse of its capabilities, I attempted to hide the object so it would never be uncovered. Clearly, that failed. Since you are here and you said something strange happened, I'm assuming it showed you something. Correct?" she asked, looking at the girl to see how she reacted.

This conversation as only starting to make her more nervous, but she steeled herself and nodded. "Yes, the statue's eyes flashed white and it showed me an image before knocking me unconscious. I need to know how to proceed. To me it seemed like a warning, though of what I can't even begin to guess. From what I know and have been told about the area, the danger should already be gone." Luna explained, shrugging. There had been a serious danger kept in the Chamber of Secrets at one point but Harry had killed the Basilisk. She didn't know what other threat it could possibly pose.

"Listen carefully, the statue doesn't merely warn you of danger. It sees danger and attempts to lure you to it by making you think you can stop whatever it is from taking place. Now, the future isn't set in stone so there's nothing saying you can't possibly avoid the danger somehow but...it's risky. Also, it can cause serious damage to your psyche if you're exposed to these flashes again and again over time. The fact you're still here speaking to me is a testament to your strength of will." the Grey Lady explained, before looking at the statue. "My honest opinion is that you should have it destroyed. Dumbledore will know how to do it safely." she told her, waiting to see how she would respond. For a time in her life she had almost come to depend on the statue, and she hoped the girl wouldn't make the mistakes she had.

Luna listened to her advice and her explanation about the statue attentively, and wasn't too surprised upon hearing her recommendation. "It's an incredible piece of magic, even if it is dangerous. But, you're probably right. If this fell into the wrong hands it could be disastrous. I mean imagine what...You-Know-Who could do with it." she said, pausing as a cold shiver ran through her body. That thing was powerful enough without being forewarned of threats to his person, and she definitely didn't want to see him with that ability. "I will do as you ask. You have my thanks." she said, bowing to the ghost before beginning to wrap up the statue in cloth once again. She took her time and once it was completely covered she put it back inside her bag and looked up at the Grey Lady.

"Come here again when it is finished, child. I would like to hear it from you personally that it has been destroyed. Do we have an agreement?" the Grey Lady asked.

The question surprised her, since she'd neared of the Grey Lady asking anybody to visit her before. "I can do that. However, considering the dangerous times we live in and the place the raven showed me I feel I have to investigate the area. You can call me a fool if you wish, but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I left it alone completely." Luna told her. While she was grateful for the advice, her life was her own and it was her conscience she had to deal with not the ghost's.

With that, the Grey Lady simply nodded and floated through the wall. She had already involved herself more in the situation than she had in a long time. The girl showed much promise, and she hoped that her investigation of whatever place the Raven showed her wouldn't do her any permanent harm. There weren't many of her house these days that she respected, so she would hate to lose her so soon.


	11. Chapter 11: Into the Pipes

Chapter 11: Into the Pipes

Harry had told Luna that what she had seen when the Raven's eyes had flashed white was probably the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Once she had recovered more, she pressed him as to where that was, eventually getting the answer of that one bathroom that Moaning Myrtle haunted. They had to work around their busy schedules, but they finally found time the following Sunday when they could investigate. Sadly, there was no telling what kind of danger the Raven had warned them about or even how close it was to occurring. Luna had considered filling him in on the Grey Lady's warning, but eventually decided that it would only worry him more. They needed to be focused, so she decided that the details of that encounter could wait until after they'd looked into the problem. Both of them agreed that at least checking on things was the wisest course of action, because if there was a real threat they wanted to know sooner rather than later. Besides, from what Harry had said about his second year there was probably a basilisk corpse decomposing down there. They were incredibly valuable due to their spell-resistant scales, the venomous fangs, and simply as a trophy. Not many people had ever seen a basilisk and lived to tell the tale, after all. Killing one without the use of a rooster's crow was almost unheard of, and Luna still found it peculiar that nobody had told him of the creature's value.

So it was that when Sunday rolled around they met in front of the bathroom after lunch, Luna carrying a small bag of things they might need. She had water, some snacks, and blank paper she could use to map out the area as they went. Harry had been too busy running from the basilisk and handling the Tom Riddle memory to do much of that last time he was down here. They headed in together and Harry led her to the sink that had the little carving of the snake on the faucet. Leaning forwards, he whispered to it in parseltongue. As he spoke the word open the sinks all changed, splitting open to reveal the large pipe beneath while some parts slid down or up to make the entryway for them. "Nothing to do but jump from here, as far as I know there aren't any steps." he said, before going in. He slid down until he reached the same room with all the animal bones as before and moved to the side before Luna slid down behind him.

Luna thought that the whole slide was rather fun all in all, and she couldn't help screaming out as she went. "Weeeeee!" she yelled, before eventually reaching the bottom and joining Harry in the room littered with the bones. "Okay, that was awesome." she said, smiling at him as she looked around. "Nothing beats a nice creepy place to explore. Lead the way, my good sir." she said, moving to follow him as Harry began heading onwards. After sliding down she realized that perhaps being loud wasn't the best course of action and they both attempted to be much quieter moving forwards.

It wasn't long before they reached the door with the serpents carved into it, and Luna froze upon seeing it. "Harry, do you know where the other end of this tunnel system leads out?" she asked him, trying to think about how something like this could be a danger. It would be difficult to put this to any use, especially if it was restricted to only wizards who knew parseltongue being able to use it properly. Voldemort could speak the language, but aside from him there weren't any other known people with that particular ability. Even having heard Harry speak the language, she doubted that she would be able to replicate the sounds with any consistent accuracy. Besides, even if she got the sound right it could be that there was an innate magic you needed for it to function properly. Luna had lots of questions, but very little answers which was the biggest thing that was bothering her.

Harry thought for a moment before shrugging. "Have to admit that I don't know the answer to that. I think it's a closed off system of tunnels, but having not explored the entire thing I can't really say for certain." he explained, Luna nodding to herself as she listened to him. After thinking about it for a moment Harry had an interesting thought and considered the matter. "It's possible that there could be an exit near the lake. For caverns like this to exist it would make sense for there having been some sort of water flow at some point in the past. I doubt that this was all created from scratch if Slytherin wanted this place to remain a secret." he reasoned.

The logic of Harry's idea seemed solid, but they couldn't really figure anything out without more information to draw from. "That's a good thought, and definitely worth investigating." Luna told him with a smile. Moving forwards, she ran her hand over the rough stone of the carved serpents. It seemed to be sealed shut properly from what she could tell, so in theory there shouldn't be anybody waiting for them on the inside. _At least, not from this side of things._ Even just thinking that was enough to send a shiver of fear down her spine, but she grit her teeth together until the feeling lessened. After a few moments she stepped back and motioned to Harry to proceed. "Okay, go ahead and open it so we can see if anybody's been in the chamber since the last time you left it." she told him.

Just before Harry moved to do as Luna asked he froze, and turned to look at Luna. "Wait, before I move forwards why don't you cast that tracking spell. We can't look for specific people, but perhaps you could focus on humans and see if any have been down here recently. It might not work, but it's worth a shot right? I suppose you could also try using Malfoy as the focus, we do know he was given a task to perform. Assuming he wasn't lying to be more intimidating, but somehow I don't think he would try that." he said. While Malfoy might be more than happy to threaten people with his father all the time, something told him he wouldn't use the threat of the Dark Lord or the Death Eaters unless there was at least a small amount of truth to it. After all, if any were to catch wind of it and he was lying he didn't think being the son of Lucius Malfoy would protect him. Draco was a bully and was blinded a bit by his father's views that were impressed upon him, but even Harry knew that he wasn't stupid.

Once again Luna was impressed by her boyfriend and nodded. "I think that's a great idea. It won't be able to tell anything if it's not recent, but if it is there should be some indication. She closed her eyes and concentrated before bringing her wand up and spinning as the cloud of gold dust began to appear. "Appare Vestigium!" she called confidently Almost immediately the door itself lit up with a faint aura of magic, but as far as magical footprints there were none to be seen save from their own. Still, she felt much more confident after having cast that and gave Harry a nod. "Alright, go ahead." she told him and moved back to watch.

Harry did as she asked this time, and the door opened to the snake tongue. "Lumos Maxima." he said clearly, lighting up his wand brightly as they continued forward. They were into the actual chamber itself now, which had suffered some damage from the basilisk thrashing about. Nothing so serious as to cause it to be structurally unsound though, from what he could see of it. They found the basilisk's body and he paused as the memories of the terrifying battle began to resurface. Without Fawkes there he would have died that night, and Ginny along with him. He looked over at Luna and reached out a hand, needing whatever support she could offer. "Aside from facing the Dementors with Sirius, this was probably the scariest thing I can ever remember facing. At least when I faced that dragon in fourth year I just had to avoid it on a broom, but the only way to survive this was killing the snake." he explained, a shudder running through him.

Luna was looking over the corpse of the basilisk, with a worried expression on her face. She couldn't imagine what facing down that creature while it was still alive must have been like, even seeing its corpse was scary. She grabbed Harry's hand before using it to pull him towards her as she hugged him tightly. "It's alright now Harry, you did what you had to do to survive. Not only that, you put a stop to a threat that could have started killing children instead of merely petrifying them. Well, it already got one I suppose." she admitted, remembering Myrtle. She held onto him and rubbed small circles into his back until he started to relax. Finally she pulled away but held onto his hand tightly when she did. "Did Dumbledore never tell you how much these things are worth?" she asked, looking at him expectantly. This entire creature is easily worth at least three or four thousand galleons all told, more if you find the right buyer." she explained to him.

All he could do was stare at her as she told him how much that thing was worse. "Really? I mean, he never told me anything about its worth I think he was more concerned about Ginny, Ron, and I making it out alright." Harry admitted with a shrug. It had been a terrifying experience, so he'd never given much thought to the corpse in the after math of everything. "Do we need to ask him to try and sell it? It is on Hogwarts grounds after all." he pointed out to her. Harry didn't want to steal something from the school if it really was that valuable.

Luna shook her head, chuckling. "No, Harry you don't have to ask to sell the dead basilisk. "It's right of conquest. You killed the creature so it's yours to do with as you please." she told him. "I'm sure Snape would kill to get his hands on a creature like this, the venom is worth an incredible amount. As a bonus, it's still mostly intact, probably because of the chamber being magically sealed with that serpent door. If you wanted you could take the head of it as a trophy and mount it on your wall when you get a place of your own." she said, chuckling as he cringed a little at the thought of that. "You're right, that is a bit dark." she admitted with a chuckle upon seeing him make a face.

"Okay, well if that's the case I think I would like to contact Gringott's and see if they could handle harvesting the basilisk and then selling it. I trust them more than I do most wizards, plus there would be a commission for them in it with selling the goods. If nothing else the gold they could make by helping me should be enough to get their help." Harry said, thinking aloud as he nodded to himself. He didn't want any part of the beast mounted on his wall or anything like that. If it was put to use he was more than happy to be rid of the great big bloody snake that had nearly murdered him four years ago. The only thing he considered taking was one of the fangs to keep as a trophy, but after thinking about it he dismissed the idea. Having survived the encounter was more than enough in his opinion.

"I think that's a marvelous idea, Harry. Trust me, the goblins are more than capable of handling this sort of thing. I would suggest advising Dumbledore when they're coming so he doesn't panic upon seeing a group of goblins descending on his school." she said, smiling a little as she looped her arm through his. "I can see why Ginny was convinced you were a hero. Waking up and seeing that monster dead on the ground next to you, anybody would think as much. I don't think she'll be too upset with us for dating, but I would expect her to be a little awkward at first as she tries to let go of her crush on you." Luna explained, knowing Harry would be kind to her about it like he was with everyone. She just didn't want him to be surprised if their friend seemed to be acting a little off around them in the near future.

"Yeah, I'll make sure to let him know when they decide on the day to come out and do it." he assured her. Harry raised his eyebrows when she went on to talk to him about Ginny and he nodded. "I'm sure, I was half expecting her to jump down my throat when we kissed at the party but she gave us space. Thanks for handling telling her by the way, I'm not sure I would have had any idea what to say that would've comforted her. Or that it would've even been appropriate for me to try. Maybe she's actually starting to move on." he told her, a hint of hope in his voice. Crying and emotional girls was a territory he had yet to really explore too much and he was hoping he wouldn't be forced to. Helping Luna was different, because it also involved getting to know and understand her better. He didn't think that kind of emotional intimacy was commonplace, and even with Hermione he'd always been a bit reluctant to let her find out too much about his situation growing up with the Dursleys. She was a great friend and he trusted her with his life, but there was a reason he'd never thought of her as anything other than just a friend. That reason mainly being her innate tendency to try and control things wherever possible. It was great for some things, but when it came to emotions things weren't that simple.

Luna smiled and leaned in for a kiss after seeing him get all contemplative, nipping his lip lightly when she did to try and bring him back to the present. "Not a problem Harry. You leave chasing off other girls to me, and if there are any guys who come after me I'll make sure to direct them your way to deal with. However, I doubt anybody will try and take me away after seeing you in the Triwizard tournament. You might not look it, but you can be a rather dangerous enemy." she told him, rather proud of the reputation he'd unknowingly cultivated over the years.

Harry was a little surprised that his girlfriend thought he was dangerous, and he couldn't help a smirk from appearing on his face. "Oh, I am. Taking you here to a place you can't leave unless I let you. For all you know that was my plan all along. Getting you here all alone so I could have my wicked way with you." he said, teasing her as he moved closer. Luna fake fought against him, but he succeeded in wrapping his arms around her and giving a kiss. He made it the longest one they'd had yet when she leaned into him, and when he pulled back he was seeing stars. "Mmm, we'll definitely have to practice snogging soon." he told her with a wink.

Giggling, Luna reached out and smacked his arm. "Easy, Harry. If you're not careful you might bite off more than you can chew. You have no idea what you might get yourself into." she told him, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. It felt fun to just goof off a little with her boyfriend, usually their lives were so serious because of all that was going on. She was afraid after the incident with the Raven statue he wouldn't let her do anything fun, but she was glad to be proven wrong. The trip down here might not be the cleanest, and they were trying to see if anything was dangerous but it was enjoyable simply getting to be alone together. They could be themselves without interruption, and that was always a gift.

Seeing her being so playful was a good thing, and he was more than happy to play along. "Perhaps, but even if I do I imagine it would still be rather...enlightening." Harry said, his imagination running wild. He knew they weren't ready to get overly physical with each other yet, so left it at that for the moment and reached out for her hand. "Come on, we should be heading back. Our next adventure won't be nearly as fun but should be plenty rewarding. I asked Remus to come and help us do a makeover of the Shrieking Shack." he explained, when she gave him a questioning look.

"Oh, I'm sure it will be." she said, her mind imagining things much along the lines of what Harry probably had. His comment about doing a makeover of the Shrieking Shack made her smile. "That sounds excellent, it will be nice having a place outside of the school to go to and get away from everybody." Luna told him. She didn't mind sharing Harry's time, but more and more she was enjoying the time that got to spend just them and no one else. "As fun as coming down here was, it's not exactly the most practical of places to go since I would never be able to enter without you there to help me." she said with a chuckle.

Harry smiled as he thought about the two of them all alone in the Shrieking Shack. "I'm looking forward to that, too." he said, with a smile. With that, he led the way back towards the opening, closing it after they'd gone through to make sure nobody would steal the Basilisk before he could get the goblins down here. Once they reached the room with the bones he looked up at the long pipe and frowned. "I hadn't thought about this part. Last time Fawkes carried us out of here." he admitted, wondering how on earth they could climb the length of the pipe without help.

Luna couldn't help but laugh a little at the poor planning. "You really should have thought of this ahead of time, Harry. The only thing to do is call Fawkes and see if he'll help us." she said. Moving into the pipe, she leaned back and called out at the top of her lungs. "Fawkes, can you help us? We need a lift!" she yelled, moving back to Harry and leaning against him as they waited.

As they waited, Harry frowned. From what he knew about Phoenixes, they were unlikely to appear merely when requested by a person who wasn't their familiar. "I don't think he'll come, Phoenixes only usually listen to their bonded witch or wizard. I think he only helped last time because Professor Dumbledore said help would always be given to Hogwarts to those who ask." he said. Before he could add on anything else there was a flash of fire and the Phoenix appeared before Luna. While he was more than a little surprised he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Fawkes, you came!" he said, relief flooding him as he flew closer and waited for them to grab on. He did so, and Luna held onto him. Together, the three of them then flew up and out of the pipe and back into the bathroom. It proceeded to close behind them, and Fawkes vanished in another flash of fire as it went back to Dumbledore. "Well, what did you think?" he asked her.

Luna smiled at him, shaking her head. "I think you have far more secrets than you think you do. It was fun, though. Kind of cool to see a legendary creature in the flesh, even if it is long dead. To be honest, I'm not sure I would have liked seeing it alive." she admitted, making them both laugh. After the laughter died out though, she turned serious as she looked at Harry. "It was also good for me to check it out myself. If there is danger coming from the Chamber of Secrets, I don't think it's there yet. Which gives us time to prepare and plan, maybe even find some help." she said, smiling as she began to feel more relaxed. "Definitely a good thing." she told him, sounding a lot more convincing this time.

"Oh, it's definitely much more friendly dead I can assure you. Let's go and bother the house elves until they give us food, I heard the twins talking once saying there's either an apple or a pear you have to tickle on this particular painting, and if you do it will let you into the kitchen." Harry explained, heading towards where he thought it was. It took them a while but they eventually found it alright, and the house elves were more than happy to serve them something to eat. Once their bellies were full, he leaned in for one last kiss before he had to go to Quidditch practice. "I'll see you tomorrow. It wouldn't really do for the captain not to show up for his own practice." he told her.

Luna nodded and gave him a smile. "Stay safe up there, I need to go and get cleaned up after heading down there." she said, waving before turning to head towards the Ravenclaw common room. She was pleased to have eased up some of her concern about the Chamber of Secrets, and content with the way things were progressing with Harry. They weren't rushing anything and the better they got to know each other the more comfortable they became. She finally had somebody she could really open up to and she wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.

A/N: Okay, so there is a change from canon in here. In the seventh book Ron does in fact go to the chamber and open it with an imitation of Harry's parseltongue, but the thing is that always really bothered me. If you can simply imitate or learn to speak the language over time it doesn't make sense to me to also make it a rare magical gift passed through bloodlines and associated with dark wizards. If anybody can just guess until they get it right wouldn't other followers of the dark attempt to teach themselves? I don't know, it's just something that always really bugged me. So for my story there is an actual magic associated with parseltongue that makes it function the way it does. Harry and Voldemort are the only users we know of. Anyways, thanks for reading I hope you all enjoyed.


	12. Chapter 12: Tryouts

A/N: A quick thank you to the anon who pointed out I had accidentally given Harry two birthdays. I cut out his 'second' one and updated my chapters accordingly. Hopefully such an embarrassing mistake won't happen again but no promises. .

Chapter 12: Tryouts

Luna had come out to the Quidditch Pitch on a chilly fall day to watch Harry run the Quidditch tryouts for the Gryffindor squad this year. A few students wanted to say something since she wasn't a Ravenclaw but Harry simply gave them a look and that was enough to shut them up. Being the Boy-Who-Lived did have some advantages, and having survived the Triwizard Tournament and a trip to the Ministry to fight Death Eaters had only served to enhance that reputation. Harry was eager to start the Quidditch season, but first he had to sort out a team. The only person he thought for sure would make it was Katie Bell, one of the remaining Chasers who hadn't graduated with Angelina and Alicia. However, he wasn't going to play favorites and everybody would have to win their position fair and square.

Scanning the group, Harry gave them his best welcoming smile. "Alright, good to see that we have a proper turnout for today. First things first, I want you all to separate into groups of five and circle the Pitch together. I'll watch from the center and see how you all are doing and make some notes." he said, and walked out to the middle where he sat down. Once they started flying he immediately focused on a group of girls that seemed far more interested in giggling and gossiping together than they were in actually flying. Everybody else seemed to be doing rather well and at least knew what they were doing. When the group of girls landed he walked over to them and glared. "Off this pitch, now. If you want to watch you are welcome to from the stands, but I won't have you wasting my time or anybody else's." he told them, crossing his arms and waiting until they did as he'd requested before turning to the other students. "Okay, the rest of you form up into groups based on what positions you'll be trying out for." he instructed.

When everybody was grouped up he saw that Ron and another boy who turned out to be named Cormac McLaggen were trying out for keeper, and that Cormac was completely full of himself. For Chaser there was Katie Bell, Ginny, a girl he hadn't met before named Demelza Robins, Dean Thomas, and a scrawny fellow named Richard Gates. For Beaters there were four boys in all, Ritchie Coote, Jimmy Peakes, Brandon Sparks, and to his surprise Seamus Finnigan had actually come to try out. Harry was more than a little surprised to see Seamus because he'd thought the boy had little to no interest in the sport. "Okay, we'll start by giving the Chasers and our Keepers a workout. Cormac and Ron, you'll each have one end of the pitch to defend. Katie you fly with Richard as one team, Ginny and Demelza as the other. The game is simple, try to score as many points as you can while working with your teammate. Partway through I'll swap one of you out with Dean to make sure he gets a fair trail, too." he said, moving off the pitch and grabbing his own broom. Harry flew up a ways above the Pitch so he could look down with a good view of the action. He waited until everybody had gotten into position and then blew a whistle as he released a Quaffle towards the Chasers.

Ginny and Katie raced towards the Quaffle as it fell, Ginny beating her out with a clever spin to maneuver around the seasoned Chaser. She sped ahead, getting Ron's attention before sending a clever pass to the other side of the hoops that Demelza swooped down and caught before easily scoring. Katie and Richard went on the attack next, she took the initiative but when she tried to pass to Richard Ginny deflected the pass. Demelza scooped it up and sped down the Pitch, shooting at the shortest hoop but Ron was able to catch that one, tossing it out to Katie once again. She was able to get around both Ginny and Demelza, but Cormac easily kicked her shot aside when she went in for the score. Harry took it all in, watching from above as they continued to play and get a feel for how they all worked together. It was obvious that Ginny and Katie were the best flyers out there, and that Demelza had a knack for clever passes and precise shooting that was deadly when used correctly. After another ten minutes to see if anything changed Harry blew the whistle and flew down. "Excellent work, everybody. Dean, you swap out with Richard and we'll run it back." Harry told them. He was curious to see if a change on the other side would be able to disrupt Ginny and Demelza's teamwork.

As they started to go at it once again, Harry was rather impressed with the whole group. Dean wasn't quite as fast as the others, but he used his size well to give him the edge when he needed it. Plus, he had a bit of extra reach that proved useful in securing passes and getting angles to throw around the defense. However, the experience and speed the other girls possessed was simply a little too much for him to handle. Instead of simply trying to mark one-on-one they began to double-team Dean instead when he had the quaffle. He burned them once by lofting up a clever pass for Katie, but after that Ginny and Demelza shut them down. Their ability to adjust on the fly like that had him grinning widely, they would definitely do nicely. Once again he blew his whistle and flew down. "Great job all, you really are a great group. The starters will be Ginny, Katie, and Demelza. Dean, if we ever need a substitute you'll definitely be the first person I call. Richard, keep practicing and please do try out again next year." he told them, before focusing on the next task.

They all congratulated each other and Dean flew down to leave and he smiled before blowing his whistle again. The other chaser Richard had already left the pitch ahead of him. "Okay, okay, well done all. Now we need to pick our Keeper. You'll all take a total of ten shots, working as a team of three like you would in a match. I'll be playing defense to give you somebody to work around and make it more like a proper match. Ron, we'll start with you. Whoever saves the most shots gets the spot." he said, before flying into position a little ways in front of Ron. Katie took the quaffle to start, with Ginny and Demelza flanking. As she sped towards him Harry knew he was in trouble, and she sent a clever pass to Demelza who quickly launched it to the other side of him where Ginny was waiting. It was obvious that Ron was feeling the nerves, but when Ginny shot it he managed to deflect it with a headbutt. After that his friend seemed to settle in, ending up blocking nine out of the ten shots sent his way. The only one that got by him was one that had a wicked spin on it that bounced off the side of the hoop and in shot by his little sister Ginny.

Next up was the annoying Cormac McLaggen. A large part of Harry wanted the boy to fail simply because of his attitude, but it became clear that he was confident for a reason as he blocked shot after shot. Harry really thought that Ron was going to get beat out for the role of Keeper, but inexplicably when the last two shots happened Cormac seemed to move the wrong direction, shaking his head after each of the shots. Looking around, Harry saw Hermione fiddling with her wand as she placed it back in her lap, and he frowned. He thought he knew what had happened, and he would definitely be talking to his friend later about it. For now, though, he simply flew over to Cormac and offered his hand. "You're a good keeper, maybe you'll make it next year." Harry said. The boy looked at his hand before simply shaking his head, ignoring Harry as he flew down and then walked off the Pitch, clearly upset. He might not have known who had messed with him, but he seemed to be aware that it was unusual to put it lightly.

"I don't know what's going on here, but something's not right!" the boy called out, but nobody was paying him attention. The majority of the group thought it was simply his temper at not making the team showing through, but Harry had a sneaking suspicion there had in fact been some foul play. That would have to wait for now though, he still had a beater due to pick. Harry shook his head and tried to focus on the task at hand.

Once Cormac had left he went over and congratulated Ron, who seemed relieved to be done with his part of the day. Ron was a great keeper, but Harry knew it would be a challenge helping him handle the nerves that the position required. Last to try out were the potential beaters, and he divided them into two groups before doing the same with the chasers. Harry went to team up with Ginny to make it even. He had the beaters do their best to harass the teams of Chasers as they went up and down the field, simply focusing on passing as opposed to taking actual shots at the moment. It quickly became apparent that Ritchie Coote and Jimmy Peakes were the best beaters there, and he stopped them after twenty minutes, telling the other boys they didn't make it and to try again next year. He congratulated Ritchie and Jimmy before getting them all to gather round. "Okay, our first official practice is next Sunday at three o'clock, rain or shine. We have a lot of new faces this year, so we'll need to work hard to get ready for our first match. Good work everybody, I'll see you Sunday." he said, before walking up to the stands where Luna and Hermione were sitting together watching the proceedings.

Ron followed him, and he thumped Harry on the back as they went, giving him a relieved smile. "For a second there, I really thought that Cormac was going to beat me out." he admitted. Harry had honestly been thinking the same thing, but he knew it was best not to burst Ron's bubble at the moment. He needed more positive reinforcement if he was going to work up the confidence to be consistent.

Harry had to refrained from commenting, thinking 'And he would have, too. If not for Hermione, that is.' Instead he simply gave Ron a supportive smile, nodding. "You did a good job, I guess the nerves just got to him at the end. Happens to the best of us." he said, and Ron just nodded in understanding. He was glad that Ron at least seemed to not have noticed anything strange. If he had seen Hermione interfering, it could very well have been disastrous.

Soon enough they reached the girls and sat down next to them, Harry next to Luna and Ron next to Hermione. Luna chose that moment to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug in spite of how sweaty he was and give him a kiss on the cheek. "Good job, Captain Potter." she said, laughing just a little as she said it because of how strange it sounded coming out of her mouth. It was rather fun, and almost made her think of him being the captain of a ship instead of a Quidditch team. This position suited him much better than the ship one, though.

Harry just shook his head and chuckled. "Please don't call me that, it will be weird enough hearing it from some of my teammates. I'd prefer it if everybody just keeps calling me Harry." he said, looking over at Ron to make sure he heard. Him and Hermione were sitting there awkwardly, still seeming to have a hard time talking with each other. "Hey Hermione, can you come with for a minute?" he asked, giving her a pointed look that he was sure she would know the reason for.

Once they were out of earshot of Ron and Luna he crossed his arms, glaring at her. She started to speak but he cut her off before she had a chance to start. "No, Hermione, I don't want to hear your excuses or your reasoning for why you did it. What did you do to Cormac on those last two shots? I could see you messing with your wand and then all of a sudden he's moving the complete wrong direction after never missing a shot beforehand. I'm not stupid, I can put two and two together." he said, waiting for her to explain herself. Normally it wasn't like him to snap at his friend, but he couldn't just overlook her messing with a team he was supposed to be leading.

"Harry, you saw how awful he was. I was trying to do you all a favor by making sure he didn't make the team." Hermione said, hoping she would get some sympathy from him but none seemed to be forthcoming from her best friend. "Okay, I know what I did was wrong. I cast a confundus charm on him to make sure he messed up. I'm sorry, I was only trying to help." she said softly, a part of her wondering just how upset Harry would be with her after this. She was used to her and Ron fighting, but Harry had always been there for her when she needed him. Sure, some of the time he had been a depressed or angry git, but he'd still been there.

"By all rights I should do a retrial for Ron and Cormac, but you're right he was awful and even though he's a great player the team will probably be better off without him. That's not your call to make though, Hermione, it's mine. I was named Captain and it's my job to handle the team. If you interfere with that again, I'll have to ban you from the matches and from our practices." he said, before leaning over and giving her a hug. "I don't blame you, but you have to trust that I can do this, okay?" he asked. He didn't like having to be hard on his friend, but he hoped she would understand that this was his responsibility now. McGonagall and his teammates were counting on him, and it was his duty to do his best for all of them.

Hermione nodded as she wiped away a few tears after his speech. She was simply relieved that they would still be friends like they always had. "You're right, I really am sorry. I'll make sure not to mess with things in future." she promised, giving him a good squeeze before letting go and heading back over towards Ron and Luna, with Harry following. "You know, I really do think you'll make a good captain. I'm sorry I doubted that you were up to the task, because you clearly are." she complimented him.

Harry was relieved to hear it and nodded. "Thanks, Hermione. I might not have as much Quidditch experience as some people, but the game's always made sense to me. It's a good escape from everything else going on and fun to boot." he told her with a chuckle. Sometimes it was nice to simply play a game with friends, but there was also a thrill to the competition that he really enjoyed.

Luna was glad that they seemed to have resolved things, she had picked up on Hermione's little helping hand as well and was glad that she didn't have to rat her out. Thankfully her Harry was smart enough to have spotted it on his own and seemed to have handled things accordingly. Standing up, she moved over to him and whispered in his ear. "Captain Potter, can you take me for a ride on your broomstick?" she asked, knowing just how suggestive that sounded and enjoying it as Harry blushed a bright red in response. Normally Luna was a sweet girl, but she wasn't above teasing her boyfriend mercilessly from time to time.

"Sure, I can take you for a ride Luna." Harry said, laughing a little and walking down to the Pitch with her, holding her hand as they went. They both got on his firebolt when they got there and flew for a few laps before landing. Once they got off his broom he pulled her close. "You have to pay the ride tax, you owe me a kiss." Harry told her, smirking. If she was going to tease him than he was more than happy to get her back for it.

Raising an eyebrow at him, she just giggled before leaning in and kissing him happily. Sharp tingles of pleasure ran through her and she smiled as she pulled back. "Come on, let's head back to the castle. I'm hungry, so I'm sure you probably are, too." Luna told him, as she started to walk. She was confident that Harry would follow her lead and join her.

"You're definitely right there." Harry agreed, his stomach giving a rumble in response. "I think it'll be lunch time soon. Though, I'm not sure anything can beat the taste of your lips on mine." he told her, wrapping his arm around her as they walked. It took a few moments for their strides to get in sync with each other but soon they were comfortably walking in rhythm towards the castle.

"I think you'll be a good Captain. Just make sure not to let Ron try and run things, if I know him he might try to steamroll over you because you're his friend." Luna warned him, and Harry nodded. She snuggled into his shoulder as they walked, and she smiled. Things were progressing nicely between him, and she thought it wouldn't be too much longer before she was ready to explore the world of snogging with her wonderful boyfriend.


	13. Chapter 13: Hermione's Party

Chapter 13: Hermione's Party

Shortly after every school year Hermione had her birthday, and she always tried not to make too much of a fuss about it. She claimed that since people had just gotten back from summer break and were settling into new routines it wasn't worth making a big deal about. Harry and Luna had discussed the matter, and both agreed that Hermione was wrong and they needed to do something. After getting together with Ron, Ginny, and Neville they worked out a plan to surprise her with a picnic out by the lake. Harry was going to invite her out to help him study by a nice tree overlooking the black lake since the weather was nice, and they would all be waiting when she made her way out. It took some organizing, but they eventually had everything ironed out. Ginny was in charge of getting some food from the kitchens, since they couldn't trust Ron not to eat half of it on his way back. Neville and Luna were in charge of decorating, and in spite of Neville not being too confident Luna assured him they would be able to get the job done. Ron had a simple but very important task, which was to not be a git to her on her birthday. Asking him for anything else seemed a little too risky so they kept it straightforward. Harry was of course the distraction, all he had to do was keep Hermione from noticing what was going on. Shouldn't be too hard once he got her talking about school.

Soon enough it was time to put their plan into motion, and Harry stopped Hermione when he saw her walking through the common room. "Hey, I'm totally swamped with Charms and Transfiguration work. None of it's making sense! By any chance, could you maybe give me some help?" he asked, looking at her with his best pleading look. Harry and Ron had both asked Hermione for help enough times that by this point he had it down pat. When he saw her start to take the bait he had to concentrate on not giving anything away, squashing the smile as it fought to appear on his face. He knew that he acting wasn't his strong suit, but he was hoping she would assume that any odd expressions were due to the anxiety about his work and obtaining her help to do it.

Hermione rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. "By this point Harry, you really should be able to manage on your own. But...I suppose you are my best friend so I can't very well say no, now can I?" she asked him. Harry was bad enough, but Ron was ten times worse so she supposed she should count her blessings. "I'll help you, but I expect any tips you have for DADA. That's one class I can't seem to get the edge on you in." she bargained, and Harry simply chuckled before nodding.

"Awesome, can you meet me out by that big tree overlooking the lake? I need to work, but it's such a nice day out I would hate to waste it staying cooped up indoors." Harry explained. Hermione only hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Great, I'll go and grab my things." he told her, before rushing back upstairs to the boys' dormitory. Since it was still pretty warm, he packed his suitcase in the bag containing his school things and Hermione's present for the party before coming back down. "Hermione must have gone to grab her stuff as well. Oh well, I guess I'll see her outside." he said to himself, before walking out onto the grounds. Hermione knew where he usually liked to go out by the lake so he figured she should be able to find him well enough.

When Harry got to the tree where his friends were setting up for the party he couldn't help but smile, everything looked awesome. Luna and Neville had gotten a small, purple and blue tent that had a table and chairs set up underneath it. There was a matching tablecloth, and it was all decorated with little silver books and orange cats that bore a striking resemblance to Crookshanks. There was a delicious looking chocolate cake with white icing, little sandwiches, stuff for people to get a salad, and fresh ruit for anyone who wanted it. To drink there was punch as well as two large pitchers of ice water. Harry added his present to the pile on a separate table off to the side before going to find Luna. So far everything seemed to be going well and they all needed to take cover before she arrived.

"She should be here soon, we should all go ahead and hide. The tent was small enough that the large tree they had selected should, in theory, hide it from view. All of them hid, and before long Hermione came into sight heading towards them. She was looking in her bag, making sure she would have everything to tutor Harry. They waited until she was close before jumping out. "Surprise!" they all yelled, causing Hermione to trip and fall flat on her butt, looking at them all in shock. It was rather funny, but they all did their best to contain their laughter as she got back up.

"Harry, what on earth did you do? I thought you were serious." she said, glaring at her best friend. Hermione never liked making a big fuss about her birthday but it was clear her friends were having none of it this year. "Well, thank you all. I guess since you went to all the trouble I might as well just enjoy myself." she said, setting her things down before examining the tent. "This is beautiful, you even got Crookshanks right." she said with a smile. It was clear that she was touched they would go to all this effort in spite of her having said she didn't want it. Sometimes emotions won out and this seemed to be the case at the moment, which Harry was grateful for. He'd been a little worried she might be annoyed they'd gone against her wishes.

Luna smiled at Hermione's compliment, feeling herself blush a little. "Yeah, it took a while to get the first one right but after that it was easy. Come on, we should get something to eat before Ron takes it all." she told her friend, grabbing a plate for each of them that both quickly filled up. Everything tasted great, the fresh fruit being rather refreshing on the hot day. It wasn't long before Luna spotted Ron getting ready to slice off a piece of cake and she nudged Hermione. "Maybe we should go ahead and get the cake out of the way." she said, pointing to Ron and Hermione let out a laugh, nodding.

"Seems like a good idea." she agreed, and went to stand in front of it. Luna produced some candles and lit them all with a box of matches she'd brought for the occasion. She could try the incendio spell, but that really had a bit more power than what they needed right now. They all gathered round and sang her Happy Birthday before she closed her eyes, making a wish before blowing out the candles. Her wish this year was for Ron to just tell her how he felt. She knew it was a lot to ask for, considering he had the emotional range of a teaspoon. But, it was her birthday and that was what she wanted more than anything. It wasn't until Harry and Luna had started dating that she'd realized just how much she wanted something like that for herself. It hadn't even been that long but the both of them were becoming more comfortable with themselves and the world in general. As much as she tried not to let it get to her, she was a little envious of her best friend. After a few moments of thinking she snapped herself out of it and focused on the task at hand. "Thanks everybody, now dig in." she said, cutting off the first slice of cake after removing the candles and doing the same herself. The group spent the next hour or so simply relaxing together, enjoying all the food and each other's company as well as the beautiful early fall day.

None of them had noticed Harry disappearing before he returned in his swim trunks and smiled. "Come on, we should get out and enjoy the water while it's still warm enough to." he said. Luna quickly joined him in changing, having worn a blue and white polka dot bikini under her clothes so she merely had to shed her top layer. The rest took longer to get ready, but Harry and Luna didn't wait as they both dove into the water and began splashing each other, laughing as they did. They didn't go out too far yet, staying where their feet could touch the bottom if they wanted. Hermione, having not known there was going to be a party naturally hadn't brought her swimsuit with her. She wasn't the brightest witch of her age for nothing though, and after a moment to think on what she wanted she transfigured her clothes into a tasteful red and gold one piece swimsuit. By the time she dove in Ginny, Ron, and Neville had already joined as well.

As they all started swimming, splashing each other for good measure, and sometimes simply doing the dead man's float as they soaked up the sun Hermione had to admit this was turning out to be one of the better birthday parties she'd ever had. You didn't need anything overly fancy or expensive when you could spend time together with good friends like this. She had loved the birthdays with her parents growing up, but she had never really had friends to join her before the incident with the troll in first year. That had been a terrifying experience, but overall with the way it had bonded her, Harry, and Ron together she'd never really minded. There were always some dangerous or peculiar happenings going on it was true; however, she knew they had her back. After last year, she was beginning to rely on Ginny, Luna, and Neville as well...even if they weren't quite as close yet.

After a while all of them were starting to feel the sun start to burn and retreated to the shade under the tent. They dried each other off with some charms because they'd forgotten towels, and by the time they were all done they felt much better. Harry looked at Hermione and the pile of presents before nudging her gently. "I think it's time you start opening some of those presents now, don't you?" he asked her, his best friend laughing a little and nodding in response. With the food and then the swim the presents had almost been forgotten.

"Okay, okay, I'll start. Before I do, though...I just wanted to say thanks to all of you. This has already been a fantastic birthday, and I'll admit you were quite successful in surprising me. Using the studying ruse was clever." she told them, before reaching over to grab the first present. Neville's gift turned out to be first and it was a rare book on unusual but useful Charms. As Hermione briefly scanned the contents she couldn't keep a large smile from appearing on her face. "Thank you, Neville. It's perfect." she told him quietly. There were only so many spells you could jam into lessons during the year, and they could accomplish a wide range of tasks that she wouldn't have even thought needed doing in the first place.

Neville could tell that he'd done a good job and shrugged sheepishly. "Don't mention it. This book was just sitting in our library collecting dust so I figured it was about time I gave it someone who would put it to use." he explained. There were a lot of thing he simply didn't have interest in, and his grandmother had already read just about everything they owned. Seeing it put to good use by Hermione was something he was more than happy to get behind.

The next gift she selected was Luna's, and her mouth hung open as she stared at a beautiful rose gold chain that had a pendant in the shape of crossed wands underneath. Hermione looked over at Luna before getting up and giving her a big hug. "Oh thank you so much, it's gorgeous. But I have to ask, what do the crossed wands mean?" she asked, a little stumped by that part in all honesty. At first it made her think of dueling, but that didn't quite fit and she was curious what the girl had been thinking about when she'd picked it out.

Luna's feet shifted a little nervously, wondering if her friend would think it silly before she spoke. "Well, all of us fought together at the Ministry, and I know we have the DA tokens and all but I thought this would serve as a reminder. We're better off fighting together than apart." she said quietly, blushing a little at how cheesy that sounded when she said it aloud. As her friends let that sink in and began to nod she let out a sigh of relief and tucked a stray hair back behind her ear.

Hermione turned it over thoughtfully in her hands, nodding to herself before she unclasped it and fastened the pendant around her neck. "I think that's a brilliant idea Luna." she told her friend, before going back to the pile and selecting a gift that turned out to be from Ron. There was really no telling what the redhead would get her, and she held her breath as she unwrapped the present. She was shocked to find a beautiful pair of silver book earrings. Since it was rather small she had been guessing jewelry but she hadn't expected anything like this from Ron. "Thank you Ron, they're perfect." she said, trying them on. Hermione didn't care that they didn't match her pendant at the moment. Ron must have been saving for a good while to get her something like this, and that alone meant the world to her. Not because of the price, but because he'd thought of her ahead of time and planned something for her.

"You're welcome, 'Mione." he told her with a grin, glad to see that she liked them. "They're enchanted too, when it's dark they give off a soft light so you can read at night if you wanted to without going to the trouble of holding a Lumos charm or lighting a candle." he explained. The birthday girl nodded, more than a little impressed with how good a job he had done this year. Ron was pleased that she seemed to like it, and after a moment's thought cut himself another slice of cake to celebrate as he watched the rest of the presents being unwrapped.

"That's great. Who's next?" she asked, reaching over and pulling Ginny's gift from the pile. As she unwrapped it she smiled and laughed a little, pulling out a wide arrange witch haircare products. "These are dead useful, thanks Ginny." she said, smiling at her friend and going over to give her a hug. Without help like this her hair was nearly impossible to tame. She thought she was starting to get used to it though, and as long as she kept on top of things it usually cooperated with her.

Ginny hugged her back. "After I saw what you did with some at the Yule ball I figured you could use some more. Hopefully next time you want to wow a guy they'll prove helpful." she told her with a wink, giggling. Hermione giggled as well, setting it aside as she went back to the pile. Hermione was confident that it would be useful, even if still a little unsure of wowing a guy.

The only present left was Harry's and she looked over at him curiously before taking it. She carefully unwrapped it and stared at it for what felt like ages before looking over at her best friend. "How did you know I loved him?" she asked quietly, as she clutched a book to her chest. After a few moments she held it out so they could see. "It's a first edition copy of The Wizard of Oz. This was my favorite book to read growing up, and I never told anybody so how on earth did you know, you prat?" she asked Harry, waiting for an answer.

Harry just scratched his head, laughing a little. He was glad that she liked his gift it had taken him a while to track one down. "Well, you see...I wrote your mum. She was more than happy to fill me in, after that I just had to find it." he explained, making it sound simple. Either he didn't realize they were incredibly valuable or he had been too determined to care and done it anyways.

Before he could say anything else Hermione set the book down and gave him one of her patented bone-crushing hugs. "Thank you Harry, you're the best." she said, holding on until Luna appeared behind her and coughed. Hermione blushed a little in embarrassment and let go, gathering her presents into a neat pile. "Sorry, Luna. This had to have been hands-down one of the best birthdays I've ever had. Seriously, thank you all so much." she said, smiling at all of them. "Now, I'm going to go back inside and get a shower, I need to wash the lake off of me." she said, taking her things and heading back towards the castle.

It didn't take long for the rest of them working together to clean everything up, and they went back inside as a group before Harry and Luna let the rest of them go ahead. They stopped and leaned against the cool stone wall, looking at each other. "You're clearly a great gift giver, but you'll have to make sure you get me something even more special than what you did for Hermione. After all, I am your girlfriend and that comes with certain perks." she told him, giving him a wink.

Harry let out a laugh at that, shaking his head. "I have some ideas bouncing around but it's a ways off so I haven't settled on anything yet. What perks are you talking about, though?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her since she'd been rather vague. "Is it the brains, the beautiful hair, how cute you are, or how you make me see everything in a different light?" he questioned, knowing he was laying it on a little thick but enjoying himself.

Luna just smiled and leaned forward, wrapping one of her hands in his hair as she pulled him in for a heated kiss. She let it go on a bit longer, teasing him a little before finally pulling back. "These perks, of course." she said, before shocking Harry by grabbing his bum briefly. "Now go and get cleaned up, I need to as well. We both smell like lakewater. And remember, flattery is nice but more important than that is just being there for me when I need you." she told him, giggling as she began to skip away and leaving a dazed but happy Harry in her wake.


	14. Chapter 14: Hogsmeade

Chapter 14: Hogsmeade

As the days slipped by into October, all of the students third year and up started looking forward to their first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. It was one of the few times they were allowed to go out unchaperoned during the school year which made it special simply for that reason, but there were also a lot of fun shops to explore as well. There was Zonko's for prank items, Honeydukes for candy, The Three Broomsticks for butterbeer and good company, and for those daring enough Madam Puddifoots' Tea Shop. The décor looked like a thirteen year old girl's bedroom, but it was still the most popular spot to go for dates. Why that is was a mystery to most students, but the guys put up with it to make the girls happy. In addition to being a place to grab some tea, it also served as a premier snogging spot which made it quite popular.

Luna received an owl from Hedwig a couple days before they were supposed to go to Hogsmeade, and she smiled as she opened the note. 'Dear Luna, would you please do me the honor of going with me to Hogsmeade this weekend? If yes, meet me the morning of by the Great Hall. Your boyfriend, Harry.' She gave Hedwig some bacon in thanks for delivering the message and gave Harry a thumbs up when she saw him looking her way. Of course she would be more than happy to go with him to Hogsmeade. It was, after all, the place to be.

The rest of the week seemed to drag by, but finally it was the weekend. Luna woke that Saturday with a spring in her step. She took a shower and got dressed in a comfy green sweater since the weather was starting to get a little bit chillier. Once she deemed herself ready she went and grabbed a quick bite to eat, and when she walked out she spotted Harry waiting for her. Ron and Hermione were nowhere in sight, and although she liked them both she was glad that it would be just them for a while. "So, what did you have planned for us?" she asked him, reaching over and taking his hand in one of hers. Since he had sent the note to meet her she was kind of assuming he had at least part of the day planned out.

Harry looked at her before shaking his head. "Nope, you don't need to know where we're going, only I do. You just have to trust me and go along with it." he said, sticking his tongue out at her. It was clear that he was enjoying being childish and Luna couldn't help but let out a laugh at seeing him act so silly. Last year he had seemed to be serious and angry a lot of the time, so seeing the more easygoing side of him was definitely a plus and something she encouraged.

Luna played along, rolling eyes at him and patting him lightly on the shoulder as they started to walk. "As you wish, Harry. But if you're being so secretive about this whole thing I expect great things." she told him with a wink. She was mainly just teasing him because they had quickly become one of her favorite hobbies, but she was also hoping for a wonderful day. So far Harry had yet to disappoint so she was confident that he could deliver.

Her comment had him raise an eyebrow at her, chuckling. "Do you know, Ollivander said the same thing to me when he gave me my wand. He said that we could expect great things from you, Mr. Potter. Because after all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible! But great. And he'd given me a wand that was a brother to his." he explained, that particular vivid memory having never faded. It had been an unusual encounter. "I'm not sure if it will be great by your standards, but I do have a day planned for us to enjoy together. First stop is Honeydukes so we can stock up on candy to enjoy as we go." he told her.

The rest of the walk to Hogsmeade was spent in a companionable silence as they simply enjoyed being together. Before too long passed the little village came into view, and Luna followed Harry's lead as he led them towards Honeydukes. The bell on the door rang as they walked inside and she breathed in the scents of so many different kinds of candy with a happy sigh. "Okay, I definitely want some sugar quills, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, and some Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. I'll let you know if anything else catches my fancy." she said, smiling.

Harry couldn't help laughing at the fact that she already had a list of things she wanted. Really, he shouldn't have been surprised at all. Luna may seem like she daydreamed a lot of the time, but she was much more organized than people gave her credit for. "Fair enough. As for me I definitely want some fizzing whizbees, pumpkin pasties, and cockroach clusters. Maybe some of the exploding bon-bons too, those are always pretty fun." he said, his eyes scanning the shelves of treats as they walked through the store amidst quite a few other students. They began to pick out what they wanted and soon had quite a collection between them. "Anything else?" Harry asked her, after they'd gathered what they had set out to as well as a few other random things along the way.

Luna paused in thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I think that's everything. The only other sweet things I want today are a few kisses." she told him with a wink, before they went up to the register and paid for their items. Harry insisted on paying for hers even though she told him that he didn't have to. As they exited the shop with some loaded bags of candy, she turned to look at her boyfriend. "Okay, you're off to a decent start. Where to next?" she asked him. She'd already gotten out a sugar quill and was sucking on the nib of the quill as they walked.

Instead of telling her Harry simply dragged her along towards the next place, which turned out to be Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. "I made us a reservation. It might not exactly be my idea of a good time, especially after what happened with Cho...but it's sort of a rite of passage in a way is it not?" he asked her, and Luna couldn't help but smile at that. She was touched that he would do something like this for her, especially after the bad experience they'd all heard about last year.

"It is indeed, thank you Harry." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek before entering. They were immediately led to a table, and even Luna had a bit of a difficult time with all the pink that was on display here. She liked some girly things, but this was on a whole different level. For a brief moment she was reminded of Umbridge and her horrid office, but she pinched herself and focused on that until her thoughts refocused. "Well, since we're here I suppose I should ask what kind of teas you like. Any favorites?" she asked him, as she looked at the menu before nodding herself. "Mine would definitely have to be Chai tea, with Peppermint in a close second." she told him.

Harry didn't really drink tea that often, and he thought back to what types his aunt and uncle had that he liked. "I think mine is just standard English Breakfast, but I haven't really tried a wide variety. Since you said you like Chai and Peppermint I'll try one and you can have the other." he suggested. Seemed like a reasonable way to go about it, and this way if he didn't like it Luna could simply have two cups instead of one. Maybe not the most adventurous or perfect solution, but he thought it was a good compromise.

"Works for me." Luna said, and flagged down their waitress to place their order. Once she had gone she looked back over at Harry with a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "You know Harry, this place isn't known just for its tea. It's also one of the premier snogging spots in all of Hogsmeade. It would be a real shame if we didn't enjoy the full experience, don't you think?" she asked him, as she slowly started making her way towards him. She had been giving the matter a lot of thought, and she was fairly certain she was ready to progress to this next step in their relationship.

Of course when she brought that up Harry predictably turned a bright red as thoughts about what that might be like assaulted him. He'd been thinking about that too, and Harry thought that he was ready for that step as well. "I...well, I wouldn't mind giving that a go. The only thing is, I haven't really done that sort of thing before. The closest was Cho last year, and I'm sure you heard how terribly that went." he said, frowning a little as he admitted that. He was certain she already knew though, as he'd been told by more than one person that Cho had gone around telling everyone what a terrible kisser he was. However, as he looked at Luna he didn't see any hint of worry in her eyes, just a burning curiosity and eagerness to explore new territory with him.

Luna closed the rest of the gap between them and put her hand on his cheek, turning him to look into her eyes. "Harry, we all know Cho was just angry and upset it had nothing to do with you. That's all beside the point though, because this is about us. I want this, and I think you do too...so nothing else matters." she said, watching his reaction to see if he got the point. If she didn't think he was emotionally ready she would be happy to wait for him, it just came down to what he was comfortable with.

Harry had to admit that Luna's logic was rather hard to argue with and he nodded. "That makes a lot of sense, and you're right...this is about us. I'm ready if you are." he said, smiling as he stared into her enchanting blue eyes. Something about them seemed to draw him in, and he began to feel more at ease. There was still a nervous sense of anxiety and anticipation making him antsy, but he definitely felt ready. This was Luna after all, not Cho...and everything they'd done together so far had far surpassed any expectations he'd had.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Luna smiled and nodded to herself before leaning in closer. "Of course, this was my idea." she told him softly. She left the hand on his cheek and cupped the back of his neck with the other as she pulled him towards her for a kiss. As their lips met they began a light battle with each other, Luna ending up the slightly more dominant one in the fight. More than happy to control the tempo, she introduced a small amount of tongue before pulling back and moving to his neck. Before he could protest, she began to suck and gave him a rather large hickey...drawing out a moan from him in the process. Her skin prickled slightly as it became more sensitive, and light tingles ran all through her with the intimate contact.

He could scarcely believe that this was really happening, and in public no less. Once Luna stopped sucking on his neck he figured all was fair and leaned down to nibble and suck on her ear. The effect was immediate as Harry gained control and Luna let out a quiet moan of her own. Smiling, Harry moved his lips back to her mouth and resumed the kissing. After a while he stopped, gasping for air as he felt his heart racing and he smiled at her. "That's a good start, but I think I need a break for now." he told her. It had been fantastic, but his nerves felt like they were on fire and he knew if he kept going it would be impossible to stop. No, he needed to calm down and regroup at the moment.

Luna nodded, her cheeks flushed just like his were as she caught her own breath. She looked over at him and gave him a bright smile. "For the record Harry, you are definitely not terrible at kissing. That was fantastic." she said. Looking over, she noticed the waitress bringing them their teas so moved back around to her side of the table. Her chai tea smelled wonderful and she took a long sip, feeling herself start to relax a little as it went down. "Mmm, yummy. We might have to do this again sometime, what do you think?" she asked him.

Harry could only grin back at her, blushing at the compliment. "Why thank you Luna, you were pretty good yourself." he told her. When his Peppermint tea arrived he held his face over the cup for a moment to let the scent wash over him, and he had to admit that it smelled delicious. Copying Luna, he took a long sip and let that sit for a minute before nodding to himself. It was a strong flavor, but it was one that he definitely liked. "You have good taste, it's really good." he told her with a smile. "I am definitely amenable to making another venture here in the future. It's been...enlightening." he told her with a wink.

Luna knew she was still blushing a little as well, but she didn't mind. Being here with Harry felt good, and not just because of the kissing. When she was with him she felt relaxed in addition to knowing he would never make fun of her for her quirks. "It has indeed. Enlightening...and enjoyable." she told him with a smirk. They simply sat there sipping the rest of their tea until it was gone, and left after Harry paid their bill. "What next? So far you're doing rather well." she told him, her hand once again holding firmly onto his.

"Next would be the Shrieking Shack." Harry informed her, as they started heading a short ways out of the actual village. "Remember how I said the place needed remodeling to make it a proper secret hideout?" he asked, receiving a nod from her in response. "Well, I talked to Remus and enlisted his help in sprucing the place up a bit. He should be meeting us there, if everything goes according to plan." he explained. Soon enough they spotted the shack and Remus was there waiting, giving them a wave when he saw them.

"Hello Harry, Miss Lovegood. It's so good to see you both." Remus told them, smiling. He seemed to be in fairly good health, at least not looking as shabby as the last time he'd seen them. "Tackling this place is going to be a bit of a challenge, so I figured I'd lend a hand. A lot of the damage done to this place was because of me, after all." he told them with a chuckle. Harry had informed Remus that he'd told Luna a bit about him and the Marauders, so he knew that she would understand what he meant by that.

Luna smiled, glad to see that her old professor seemed to be doing alright. "Well, we're happy for whatever help you can give us. And please, call me Luna." she told him. If he was half as good at charms as he clearly had been with defense against the dark arts than he would prove dead useful. More importantly though, it was simply good to see him. It was obvious that Harry was rather pleased that he'd been able to get him to come, and anything that made Harry happy was a good thing in her book.

Remus looked at the two teens in front of him and realized that giving them a little place of their own to go to could be rather dangerous in some ways. He cleared his throat to get their attention. "Luna, Harry...by helping you make this place more livable I am by no means trying to give you a place to hook-up in outside of school. I expect you both to be responsible. If you can't do that, tell me now." he said, crossing his arms as he eyed them both and waited for their answer. He might not be responsible for either of them, but it would be remiss of him not to at least attempt to be a responsible adult.

Both Luna and Harry flushed a bright red at the mere notion of them using it as a hook-up spot. She elbowed Harry after giving him a look and he coughed a little before answering. "I assure you, that's not why we asked for your help. We just want a place away from everybody else, it's always so crowded in Hogwarts. A place to relax and unwind, neither of us are remotely ready for the umm...hooking up." he said, forcing himself to fight his way through the awkward words because they needed to be said.

Remus looked at Harry for a long minute before nodding and clapping him on the back. "Excellent. Let's get to work, then." he told them both. Leading the way, he opened up one of the boarded up windows with the use of some simple magic and headed inside. "Okay, I'll work on the walls and repairing the furniture and the kitchen. You two focus on the floors. I trust you've been taught plenty of cleaning charms, Luna?" he asked, being fairly certain that Harry hadn't gotten a chance to learn those yet. She nodded and he smiled, rolling up his sleeves. "Excellent, you show Harry how to get started. I'll get right to it." he told them.

It took about ten minutes for Harry to learn the charms he would need to help her clean the floor. By the time they'd started Remus had already gotten one of the walls almost cleaned and repaired. Heading to separate ends of the shack, they both began to slowly work their way towards the middle. The work was slow, but rewarding as they made progress and began to see a place that could actually be rather cozy. Underneath all the dirt and grime was actually a rather cozy little home, and Harry could see how the Marauders had been able to make it a place of their own. The place had a lot of potential in the right hands.

Eventually they finished the floor and began helping Remus where they could. After about an hour and a half, all three of them were a bit sweaty but pleased as they finished up. While it wasn't perfect, it was much improved and Harry and Luna felt confident they could take it from where they'd gotten the place to and make it their own. They walked back outside, and Remus boarded up the window once more. "Important to maintain appearances, after all. You two behave, and I'll hopefully see you at Christmas." he told them. Before they could reply Remus turned on the spot and apparated away, leaving them alone once more.

Luna looked over to Harry after Remus left and smiled. "That was fun, now we'll have our own hideout. Where to, next?" she asked him, letting out a yawn before leaning her head on his shoulder. She wasn't sleepy just yet, but that had been a rather tiring cleaning experience. At the moment she was ready for something more relaxing maybe.

Harry thought for a moment as he began to gently play with Luna's hair. He loved the feel of it as it ran through his fingers. "I think next up is The Three Broomsticks. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione should be meeting us there." he told her, putting his arm around her as they began to walk back into Hogsmeade. They found The Three Broomsticks to be almost completely packed, but luckily their friends had already snagged them a table and waved them over. "Hope you haven't been waiting too long." he told them, as he slipped into a chair and Luna took the one next to him.

Hermione smiled as she greeted them. "Not at all, good to see you both looking well." she said, before pausing as she noticed the hickey on Harry's neck. "Seems you've been having a rather exciting day." she commented, before laughing a little. "Only natural, of course. I assume you want butterbeers?" she asked, receiving nods from them both before she flagged down Madam Rosmerta and placed an order for two more.

Harry and Luna both felt their faces heat up at Hermione's comment, realizing what she must have seen. "Oh, it's been wonderful. Harry had the whole day planned for us. I think this is our last stop before we head back though, if I'm not mistaken." she said, smiling as she looked over at Harry who gave her a shrug in response. "Anyways, what have you all been up to?" she asked them.

Ron was the one to speak up this time. "Same old, same old, we've done some shopping and just wandering around a bit." he told them, shrugging. As he was about to continue Ginny got up after Dean motioned her over to his table, and he stared at them. "Think those two might be fast becoming an item by the looks of it. Never would have thought it." he said, looking away as Ginny and Dean started to kiss. "I just wish she wouldn't do that where she knows I can see her, or at all, to be honest." he said, causing Luna and Harry to laugh as Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Ron. She's not doing anything wrong. You should relax, and maybe think about your own nonexistent love life instead of focusing on the ones around you. Maybe you could find yourself a girlfriend if you put in a little effort." Hermione told him with a pointed look. Part of her had been hoping he would have taken this opportunity to finally ask her out properly, but she'd still gotten nothing from him in that regard. There was only so much waiting she was willing to do, and at this point it was hard not to simply give up on him.

"You may have a point, Hermione. However, she is my little sister. Being protective of her isn't just something I can turn off when it's convenient. Besides, I'm the last of her brothers here at Hogwarts so it's kind of my job to look out for her. I don't think Dean's a bad guy or anything...it's just hard, okay?" Ron asked, downing the rest of his butterbeer. "I think I'm going to head back to Hogwarts, I'll see you all later." he said, before walking out. It was clear that the situation with Dean and Ginny had put him in a sour mood so they let him go without complaint.

Hermione just watched Ron go before looking back at Harry and Luna. "Sorry, he's been touchy ever since he noticed Dean and Ginny flirting earlier." she said, apologizing for him before finishing off her own butterbeer. "I don't know...I was hoping today he might finally make a move, but still nothing. Be honest with me Harry, should I give up on Ron?" she asked him, finally voicing something she'd been wondering herself for a long time. There wasn't anybody else here that she really liked, but she didn't want to waste her time pining after him either.

Harry was a little caught off guard by the abrupt change in the conversation, and sighed as he thought about it. "That's up to you. I know Ron does care, but I have no idea if he's going to grow up and do something about it any time soon. If I had to say I doubt it will be soon though, you see he's...he's rather focused on doing a good job as Keeper at the moment." he explained, hoping she wouldn't be too offended by his honesty. "I've tried to kind of point him in the direction of getting a girlfriend before, but...I don't know, I'm not sure if he knows what he wants right now." he admitted.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Hermione nodded and got up. "It's okay...I thought that might be the case. I'm going to head back as well, enjoy the rest of your day." she said, wiping at her eyes a little as she walked off. It was clear that things really weren't okay, but Harry had no idea of how to help her right now. They would either figure things out or they wouldn't. Right now she obviously wanted some time to herself to sort through her emotions, so Harry would let her have it even though he was rather concerned about her.

Luna and Harry found themselves alone, and slowly drank their butterbeers when they were brought before getting up as well. "Thank you, this really has been an amazing day. Let's head back before it gets too late, though." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek after Harry nodded. They got up and left, starting on their way back. Before they got too far they heard Katie arguing with her friend Leanne about something. A package that they were carrying ripped, and suddenly Katie was held up in the air and began to spin slowly, screaming all the while after touching the package. Her friend was watching on in horror, a look of pure shock and fear on her face. Before they could do anything she fell back to the ground, seemingly unconscious.

"We need to get her back to the school." Harry told her, rushing over to see what was going on with Luna following close behind. Leanne tried to explain but she was crying too much for anything to be coherent. Luckily for them Hagrid came along and once Harry explained the situation he picked Katie up seemingly no trouble. There were definitely some advantages to being a half-giant, and carrying her would be no more difficult for him than it was for Harry to carry a bag of school books.

"You lot need to tell Professor McGonagall what happened. She's a Gryffindor so she's the one who needs to be notified." Hagrid told them in a gruff voice. "Also, pick up that object but don't touch it, use the wrappin's to lift it. Whatever that is, it's dangerous." he told them all before rushing off, his long strides eating up the distance as he headed towards the school.

Leanne, Luna, and Harry all headed back and gave a brief explanation of what had happened to Professor McGonagall. It seemed that Katie had come out of the bathroom at The Three Broomsticks with the package. They'd been arguing because Leanne didn't understand why she was so determined to deliver a package that wasn't hers. Apparently before she went into the bathroom she'd been emptyhanded. After questioning them for a while Professor Mcgonagall dismissed them and Leanne left to towards the hospital wing and check on her Katie. Harry hung back though, and waited for Leanne to leave before walking towards his head of house.

"Okay, I know how this sounds...but I think Malfoy was behind the package." he told her bluntly. Harry could see that McGonagall was about to reprimand him but continued before she could. "Just listen, earlier this summer we saw Malfoy in Knockturn Alley with his mother. We were simply looking for curious items but he claimed to be on a mission that would get him accepted as a Death Eater if he did it right." Harry explained, pausing to let that sink in. "Now...what does Malfoy have access to that other Death Eaters don't. The school. I know it's thin at best, but my gut's telling me he's involved." he finished, looking at her to see how she would take his theory.

Professor McGonagall let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Potter but you have absolutely no evidence to support your theory. Professor Snape tries to look after him as best he can, and for now that will have to be enough. Now go, I need to inform Professor Dumbledore of what's taken place if he hadn't been told already by Hagrid or Madam Pomfrey." she said, getting up to leave. Clearly, she was of the opinion that this discussion was closed and Harry frowned a little.

"Well, that was an unexpected end to our day. I need a shower after all that cleaning, I'll see you tomorrow Harry." Luna told him, giving him a gentle kiss. "We've done all we can do for now, there's nothing else to do but let the teachers handle this. If Malfoy slips up we can take action then, but we can't do anything now." she told him pointedly, before giving his hand a squeeze and letting go as she walked off towards Ravenclaw tower, leaving Harry in her wake.

Harry thought about the matter for a few more moments before shrugging and starting the walk back to Gryffindor tower, letting out a frustrated grumble as he went. "I suppose she's right. Nobody's perfect, and if it really is him I'm sure we'll have our proof before too much longer." he said. For now, all he could do was watch and wait.


	15. Chapter 15: Trouble, My Name Is Ginny

Chapter 15: Trouble, My Name Is Ginny

Ginny woke up early on the day of their first Quidditch Match filled with excitement. It was her chance to finally get out there and show what she could do. While it was true they had only been working together for a short time the team was coming along nicely. The only snag was the loss of Katie, but her boyfriend Dean Thomas had stepped in for her when she had gotten hurt and had been working well with both her and Demelza Robins. Speed was useful, but they were starting to appreciate that extra reach and the strength he had to fight through tough spots. Their beaters were adequate if not quite as brilliant as the twins had always been. She wasn't worried about Harry at all not only was he a great seeker but he had a firebolt to outstrip the competition in any races towards the snitch. Her only concern at the moment was how Ron would do. He was a great keeper, but she knew that nerves had a tendency to get the better of her brother. She took a quick shower and donned her Quidditch gear before grabbing her broom and making her way down to the common room. To keep her long red hair out of the way she'd pulled it back into a simple but effective ponytail for the match.

When she got down to the common room Ginny saw Harry dragging a queasy looking Ron out the door, telling him he would feel better once he got some food in him. There were a few students in the younger years she wasn't very familiar with sitting and talking with each other. Dean was either at breakfast already or yet to come down since he was absent, and her roommates Parvati and Lavender were in the corner giggling and gossiping. She figured that Dean would be alright and was about to make her own way out so she could grab a quick bite before heading to the pitch when she heard a snippet of what Hermione's roommates were gossiping about, making her face burn red with both embarrassment and her temper. Why the two of them couldn't leave well enough alone she would never understand. Lots of people heard or passed on rumors occasionally, but the two of them were always trying to use it to their own benefit or humiliate people for no reason other than they were bored or simply waned to.

"Oh come on Parvati, you know she's only with Dean because Harry's not on the market. She's just using him as a distraction while she waits for him to become single again. I mean, you don't really think that him and Loony Lovegood will last, do you?" Lavender asked, barreling on when she got a nod from her friend. "Of course they won't. She'll want to be there to pick up the pieces. But let's talk about how I can get Ron, I was thinking maybe I could make a move tonight if we win the match today. There's usually a party, so that would be the perfect time to strike." she said, leaning closer and talking quieter so she couldn't hear the rest of what they were saying. Hearing the girl talk about making a move on her brother was enough to make her queasy, but Ginny decided to push through and her anger quickly burned it away. She had to say something, this wasn't an instance she could just let go and walk away..

Ginny picked up on the fact that part of that conversation had been about her basically using Dean while she waited for Harry and Luna to break up. She really didn't think she was that type of person. Did she have feelings for Harry still? Okay yes, maybe a little...but, she liked Dean too! On top of that hearing anybody call her friend Luna was sure to set her off, and she stalked over to them and grabbed Lavender's shoulder to get her attention. "You know, usually gossiping about people works better when they can't hear you. I'm glad I caught it though, because you seem to be very confused on a few details. I'm not just using Dean while I wait for Harry you bitch, and him and Luna make a great couple. As for my brother, he may be thick when it comes to girls but I'm sure even he is smart enough to avoid the likes of a slag like you." she said angrily, but trying to keep a low enough tone so as not to draw too much attention. "I'd love to duel you, maybe that would teach you some manners. So what do you say, think you can back up your words with some well-placed spells?" she asked, giving her an unsettling grin as she imagined what she could do to her. Nothing permanent mind you, but hopefully effective.

Lavender was surprised when the subject of their conversation appeared and interrupted their gossip session but she was not at all intimidated by Ginny. She was well aware that the girl would beat her in a duel, but when it came to mincing words she could more than hold her own with anybody at Hogwarts. "Ginny, Ginny, Ginny...it's obvious to anyone with half a brain that you don't really like Dean." she said, putting the emphasis on really to drive her point home. "You might think he's fun to make out with but I've been here long enough to know that you only care about Harry. You're just lying to yourself to justify it. As for Ron, I don't think he knows what he wants. Maybe he just needs a girl to show him. So unless you intend to start a fight with me and get in trouble for it I have no intention of dueling you. Now...run along, Parvati and I were busy. Now, run along." she said, glaring daggers at her before a wicked smile appeared on her face. "Oh look, there's Dean now. Hi, Dean." she said, giving him a cheery wave. The timing couldn't have been more perfect in her book, but Ginny felt like the floor had been pulled out from under her.

She whirled around to find Dean frozen at the foot of the boys' staircase, having heard a lot of what Lavender just said because unlike Ginny she'd made no attempt to be quiet. He looked hurt and met her eyes, waiting for Ginny to tell him Lavender was wrong. Deep down though, she knew that there probably was some truth to what Lavender was saying. Harry had always had a special place in her heart and that hadn't changed even though her friend had started to date him. Maybe she'd made a mistake in trying to date Dean so quickly after the two of them got together. Dean was replacing Katie since she was still recovering, and he just shook his head as he walked up to Ginny. Her moment of hesitation had told the boy everything he needed to know. "Don't you dare try and apologize or talk to me, we're through. I'll still play in the match, but don't expect anything else from me. Lavender might gossip too much, but clearly she actually does know who you like. It's my own fault for getting fooled, I guess." he said, walking by her and out the door to go and head down to the pitch. He was using one of the school brooms, and oddly enough after that little display he wasn't feeling all that hungry.

Some tears started to fall down Ginny's face and she scrubbed them away before looking at Lavender with a hate-filled glance. "Happy now? You should try getting your own life instead of picking apart everybody else's." she spat venomously, before leaving as well. She heard the two of them giggle behind her and start talking again, clearly not upset that they'd just broken up a relationship. It was enough to make her sick to her stomach, and all of a sudden a game of Quidditch with both Dean and Harry out on the Pitch seemed a lot more daunting of a task than it did a fun one. She knew she would need some energy though, and made herself go down to the Great Hall to have some beans on toast and some juice. She ate mechanically and was so distracted she didn't even really taste the food at all. More than being mad at even Parvati or Lavender though, she was angry with herself for not recognizing where her own feelings were still directed earlier.

* * *

`(OvO)´

Harry was starting to feel a little better about the game as he'd finally gotten Ron to eat something. He still looked a little green but he'd started to talk strategy with him. Those hopes were dashed when he saw Ginny eating her food like it was cardboard and not talking to anyone at all. Usually she was talkative, funny, and he would have thought she would be excited about the Quidditch match instead of nervous. She didn't even seem to take notice of her surroundings as she picked at her food and he frowned. It really wasn't like her and he was starting to wonder if something happened between her and Dean or something else. After all, they had been dating last he checked. "Hey, Ginny. Are you okay?" he asked, wondering if he'd even be able to get her attention because she seemed a million miles away.

She looked up at him, seemingly surprised to see him there. "Oh, hi Harry. I'm fine, it's just...Dean and I broke up." she explained, looking down at her plate and picking at her food some more. "Don't worry though, he said he'll still play the match. We won't let it affect our teamwork too much." she assured him. It was obvious that she was anything but fine, and he wasn't sure how a break-up on the morning of a game would be manageable for their teamwork but decided being optimistic was about all they could do. He'd told Dean the replacement spot was his, and if the boy wanted to play he wasn't going to take that away from him.

While Harry appreciated that they would try their best to keep the team going, he was also worried about his friend. He would talk to Luna later and see if she could help cheer her up. Hermione was the only other female friend he'd had and since she'd never really dated yet he hadn't had much practice in comforting the opposite sex. "Don't worry about the match too much, just do what you can. It's a fun game, but one lost match isn't the end of the world if they get the better of us. Sorry about you and Dean." he said, trying his best to sound supportive. He figured that was safe territory, and honestly a simple sorry about the break-up was about all he had at the moment.

Ginny just nodded and went back to her food, but left after a few minutes since it was obvious she wasn't in the mood for it right now. Harry turned back to Ron who seemed to be getting ready to say something disrespectful about Dean. Clearly, he'd heard enough of the conversation to know they hadn't worked out and was preparing to go all big brother on Dean when he saw him. "Stop it, we don't know what happened between them or why they broke up. You can confront him later if you want, but we really should get down to the pitch so we can warm up." he told his friend, who begrudgingly nodded. Harry got up, and when he saw Ron still wasn't moving he dragged him up and walked behind him, nudging him when he would slow down. "Come on, Ron. We only have so much time to warm up before the game and I need you at your best." he said firmly.

As they were walking out of the great hall to head towards the pitch they bumped into Hermione and Harry stopped briefly to talk with her. "Ginny and Dean broke up, no idea why. Can you let Luna know that Ginny could probably use someone to talk to, later?" he asked her. There really wasn't all that much time before the match or he'd look for her himself. Something told him this game was going to go badly with how distracted everybody was, and he knew he would have to find the Snitch fast or Slytherin would take advantage of it. He did not want to see a gloating Draco flaunting a win over him, blaming their loss on Potter's leadership abilities as their team captain. Imagining that was enough to make his skin crawl and he would do what he had to do if he could avoid it.

Hermione looked surprised to hear the two had broken up but nodded. "Sure thing, Harry. Good luck out there, today. I heard that one of the Slytherin Chasers had a head injury at practice the other day and I don't think he's playing, so don't lose hope yet. I know you can do it." she said, flashing him a friendly smile before heading inside to get some food and talk to Luna. Harry was grateful for the help, he would talk to Luna himself but he knew it would take all the time he had to refocus Ron on the match and he needed to start soon.

Harry smiled at her and nodded, clapping Ron on the back as they continued out onto the grounds. "Hear that Ron? They're down a chaser. That should make your job a little easier." he told him. He was a little nervous about what he'd find when he got out to the Pitch, but Ginny seemed to be using flying and Quidditch as her escape from reality as her and Demelza were flying around and tossing the Quaffle back and forth. Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote were already there hitting a bludger up and down part of the Pitch, and he saw Dean coming their way. He helped Ron get warmed up by shooting with him and let Dean join the Chasers. Things seemed a little awkward between them, but for the most part they seemed to be keeping it together alright.

After about fifteen minutes he gathered everybody on the ground. "Okay, it looks like Malfoy's a no show plus one of their chasers is out. Slytherin is weak right now and I know we can crush them. Everybody do their best." he said, putting his hand in and waiting for the others to do the same. "One, two, three, Gryffindor!" he shouted, the others joining him before they flew up to their positions. The match was about to begin and Harry closed his eyes briefly as he took a deep breath, trying to calm his thoughts. The quicker he ended this the better for them, so he would need to be at his best. It was true that a low scoring game might hurt them down the road, but it was better than a loss.

* * *

`(OvO)´

The game was a fairly short one, with Gryffindor winning by a 250 point margin. In spite of the team drama with Dean and Ginny and Ron being angry that Dean might have hurt his little sister, they all played pretty well. Ginny and Demelza worked great together, and Dean did an excellent job of breaking up passes to get the quaffle back in their hands. Ron struggled a little at first, but once he started to focus on the game did an excellent job. Their backup seeker was much better than Malfoy, which wasn't really all that surprising...but Harry still managed to get the snitch in the end. While he was glad they'd gotten their first win of the year, it kind of felt like a hollow victory with everything that was going on.

The team all hit the showers and then went to find some food and have a celebration in the Gryffindor common room. Harry stayed behind to clean up their locker room a bit and then go and find Luna. He was sure the party would be fun, but he would have a better time celebrating with his girlfriend. After he'd gotten changed and went to leave he saw Ginny watching Dean walk off with a sad look on her face and he figured he should probably say something. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked her. "Did he break up with you because he likes somebody else or something?" Harry asked. He of course had already been eating with Ron so hadn't heard anything about what had happened in the common room after he left.

Ginny seemed startled when Harry spoke to her, clearly not having noticed him there. "No, we broke up but it was more because of things on my end." she said, looking at Harry and biting her lip. "Look, I know you probably don't want to hear this but...you see...I like you." she said, pausing a little before looking at him with a fire in her eyes. "I always have, and I don't think that's going to change. Do you think you might ever like me back?" she asked him. The words had slipped out before she'd even realized what she was saying, but once they were out in the open she felt relief at not having to keep it in any longer. Some guilt too, but she wasn't going to try and take it back after finally coming so far.

Harry could see the hope in her eyes and while he didn't want to hurt her feelings he didn't want to lie to her either. "I don't really know, Ginny. Right now I care about Luna, and I don't see that changing any time soon. She told me she talked to you about it when we first got together, because she knew you had had a crush on me. You'll always be a friend, I can't promise more than that." he said, feeling rather uncomfortable with the turn this conversation had taken. "Maybe you need to go and relax somewhere, it's been a trying day for all of us." he suggested.

At first Ginny seemed to nod and listen, but when he said that she would always be a friend she moved closer to him. His suggestion of her going off somewhere to relax didn't seem to register at all, and before he could do anything to stop her she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down for a rough kiss. When he pulled back and swatted her hands away from him she smiled, shooting him a wink. "And what do you think now...still think we'll always be just friends?" she asked, thinking she may have gotten him to come around to her way of thinking. Her inner Gryffindor was shouting at her to snog him senseless, and she was about to try for a second attempt when Harry spoke up.

More than a little shocked that she would do something like that, Harry just shook his head in disbelief at the lengths she would go to try and get him. "Now I'm not so sure. If you keep acting like this I don't think we can be friends." he said, grabbing his broom and turning to leave. At this point he didn't care if he hurt her feelings, she needed to know that this sort of behavior was not something he was going to accept or brush under the rug. When he started walking he saw Luna standing there, clearly having come by to congratulate him on a game well played. There were tears streaming down her face that he could make out even from a good fifty feet away. "Luna, wait! It's not what you think!" he called out, but she was already turning and walking off, disappearing into the stands. By the time Harry got to where she'd been and looked around, she was nowhere to be seen. The look in her eyes chilled him to the bone, it was like seeing that had ripped the bright light she had always had in them and stomped on and ground it into the dirt.

Turning right back around, he found Ginny still standing right where she'd been trying to process what had just happened. "Luna's been one of your best friends since you were a kid, and you repay her by trying to get her boyfriend to cheat on you. A boyfriend who still doesn't want you by the way. Earlier I told Hermione to go and talk to Luna so she could try and comfort you on your break-up with Dean, but clearly you weren't all that broken up about it in the first place." Harry said angrily, glaring at her. "Look, you need to apologize to her. I don't know if she'll believe me or not when I tell her I was pushing you away and that I wasn't interested. She's your friend, maybe you should stop acting so selfish and try acting like hers." he told her icily before walking off. Things had been like a dream since he'd started dating Luna, and he could feel it crashing down around him as cold reality set back in. He should have known better than to think he could keep something so good alive, everything always tended to die around him.

Luna had quickly become the most important person in his life in the short time they'd been dating. He still cared about his friends but they didn't share the same bond that he had with Luna. If he lost her...he knew he wouldn't ever be the same. Maybe he had been harsh with Ginny but right now he was more concerned with how to try and salvage his own relationship. Harry didn't know if Luna would believe him, he hoped so...but it had to have looked pretty bad seeing them kiss. Plus she'd been too far away to hear anything of what they'd been talking about. For all he knew she might have thought the only reason they'd stopped kissing was because she had shown up. He wouldn't blame her if she decided not to be with him any more, and he knew he wouldn't be able to forgive himself for hurting her like that. Even if he hadn't been the one to initiate the kiss, he should've seen it coming. Luna herself had told him about Ginny's feelings so he should've been more cautious around her.

Meanwhile, Ginny had taken a seat on the ground when her feet had started to get unsteady beneath her. She'd brought her knees up to her chest and was holding onto them as tears started to fall hot and fast down her face. Never in a million years would she have thought Harry would threaten to end their friendship, and he was right about her essentially stabbing Luna in the back. Today had just happened so fast that she hadn't been able to catch up, and her emotions had taken over when she'd seen Harry and thought they were alone. It didn't change the fact that what she had done could have cost her both Harry and Luna's friendships though, and she pressed her forehead tight against her knees as she tried to block out the world. "What have I done?" she asked herself quietly, rubbing at her eyes as she tried to get a grip.

It took her a good ten minutes before she was able to pull herself up off the floor and head back inside. Ginny would try to talk to Luna eventually and explain things, but right now she just needed to find her bed and pull the curtains closed. All she had done today was hurt her friends, and she needed to try and find a way of coping with all this without anyone bothering her. With a look of determination, she just kept walking forwards when anybody tried to congratulate her on a game well played. Things got rather challenging when she got to the Gryffindor common room, but she eventually fought her way through and found both dorm and bed waiting for her. She curled up on her bed after drawing the curtains closed and hugged her pillow for dear life as another wave of tears threatened to drown her. Already her stomach was starting to hurt from the sobbing, but she figured that pain was the least of what she deserved for all she'd done today.

A/N: Sorry about the delay in posting, I've been a little busy and started back to work so this story got bumped don a little on my priorities list. Hope you all like, I've been looking forward to adding some drama into what so far has been a pretty fluffy ship. Would love to hear your thoughts on the story so far. Anyways, thanks for reading.

Also, I have been going back and editing what I've done so far. Already through chapter four. One person gave me a review pointing out some problems that I wanted to address and I wanted to fill in some detail that I noticed was sorely lacking when I started to skim through. It's not necessary to reread the story to keep going, but I think it's improvement so if you get curious feel free to go back and look. Hopefully it reads a little better.


	16. Chapter 16: What's Left

A/N: Okay, so if I still have any readers left I just want to say a huge thank you! This story needed a lot of editing and while I'm sure it's still not perfect I went back through each chapter in an attempt to fix it up. While it's not necessary to go back and reread, I did a lot of detail and had some minor changes that some of you might appreciate. Now, as for moving forward...I gift you with a hot mess of an angsty chapter. Been longing to really dig in and write something like this for ages and the moment finally arrived. Like something, don't like something, feel free to let me know in a review! Hope you all enjoy. ;)

Chapter 16: What's Left?

A lot of the students had enjoyed celebrating the Quidditch victory over the Slytherin team the day before, but three Gryffindors in particular didn't have quite as much fun as the rest of their friends. Dean, Ginny, and Harry had all disappeared after the match. Ginny had forced her way through to the her four-poster bed and had a good cry, Dean had simply gone to his own bed and stared at the bed's canopy as he wondered why he'd let himself be led along by Ginny, and Harry...well, suffice it to say Harry was even more of a mess than the other two. He had attempted to find Luna for a while, but nobody seemed to know where she had gone and he couldn't find any trace of her himself. After that had failed, he had gone to find Hermione hoping he would be able to talk things over with her. As it turned out though, Ron had for some reason decided to have a snogging session with Lavender Brown after the match which had hurt her feelings something fierce. Instead of getting help from his friend, he did his best to comfort her and tried to ignore the pain and hollow feeling that was starting to gradually grow within him. By the time Hermione had calmed down he felt like a shell of himself, and stayed in the empty room when she went back to go and work on her homework. In her opinion, that was a distraction worth diving into and he didn't have any better ideas so let her go. Finally alone, he well and truly began to break down.

It started with his brain playing the memory of the look on Luna's face over and over, wearing him down until it broke through his walls and began to twist through him like a poison. Harry had hurt her, and even if she one day forgave him for the kiss he wasn't sure he would be able to forgive himself for hurting her the way he had. She had trusted him, even warned him about Ginny's crush, and he had let her down. While it wasn't the first time he had made a serious mistake, this time he thought it might have the most dire consequences. With Luna he was finally starting to feel comfortable with himself and others because together they made each other feel like they could branch out and be themselves. They could laugh, kiss, talk about serious things, or simply enjoy some time being close to each other as they did different things. Now even the happy memories were tainted with the look of pain in her vulnerable blue eyes as she watched them kissing, and it made a pulse of pain shoot through him like somebody was poking him over and over with a hot iron. He'd honestly rather face the cruciatus curse than have to think about that pain he'd caused.

For a brief moment, he thought that maybe he should remove the memory and store it in Dumbledore's pensieve. Perhaps with time away from it he'd be able to move forward and come back to it at a later date with a better coping strategy. He knew that Dumbledore would probably tell him it was a very mature way of handling things and he was more than happy to help. However, that felt disrespectful to Luna. She had trusted him and in turn he'd failed her by letting Ginny kiss him, so no matter how great the option of removing the memory was it would essentially be letting him get off scot-free. Harry didn't want to torture himself, but that didn't seem like the right thing to do at all. He felt like he was drowning and didn't know which way was up, everything was dark and there was no more the light Luna cast on everything to help guide him out of his problems. This time he was alone, well and truly...which was when the fear began to take root.

Now the fear went about its work in a clever way, beginning by making him fear what his friends would have to say when they saw him. Hermione would shun him, saying that he should have known better than to try and comfort a girl after a break-up when he knew that she had a crush on him. It was purely irrational and he really should have expected it and avoided the situation altogether. Ron would feel betrayed and tell him as much, saying he never should have become Harry's friend if he was going to repay years of friendship by kissing his little sister. Not only kissing her, but also saying unkind things to her after the fact, essentially ending their friendship. Neville would simply stop speaking to him, saying that he should've been the Chosen One if this was how Harry was going to behave. Ginny would look at him with a cold hate, saying that he was the reason Dean and her had broken up in the first place. All she had left was the opportunity to take a chance on him and instead he had rebuffed her, making her think that maybe she'd been better off with Dean to begin with. Then there was Luna. Beautiful, smart, whimsical, kind, incredible Luna. Of all the people he'd known she had been the only one that he could talk to about anything with and not fear being judged. She had started to become his rock, and he had been trying to learn how to do the same for her. Instead he had trampled on the delicate trust they had begun to build up, everything ripped to shreds in the wake of something that was easily avoidable. She had told him about Ginny's crush, but he hadn't taken the unspoken hint that went with it of being careful around her. Now here he was, alone and he had nobody to blame for it but himself. Would he ever find a way to get Luna to speak to him? Would he find a way to get any of his friends to see him the same way as they had before? Or...would he always be the boy who broke their friend's heart for no other reason than by simply jumping into a situation without thinking things through. Last time it had gotten his godfather killed, and this time it was killing a part of himself.

After that fear came an unsettling period of crying on the cold, hard floor. The stone was uncomfortable and unforgiving, which suited his mood just fine at the moment. Harry didn't think he deserved to be crying under a blanket on a comfortable bed, or even sitting up with a tiny bit of dignity. No, that was for people who had earned that sort of reward, and he hadn't done anything to speak of. Not only had he been unable to find Luna, but he couldn't talk to Ginny again or even Hermione because he was a coward. Ron he desperately wanted to talk to, but once he learned that Harry was the reason Ginny and Dean broke up he thought his friend would be angry with him. He hadn't intentionally done anything, but by trying to comfort Ginny he had given her a temptation that she was too vulnerable to resist. He was still mad with her for her part in all this, but...well, he knew she hadn't been the only reason it had happened. The person he wanted to talk to the most was Sirius, and after thinking about it he didn't see why he couldn't do just that. Sirius was gone, but that didn't mean he couldn't hear him from wherever he was now.

His voice was hoarse and rough from his crying, but he didn't care. At the moment that's all Harry was, coarse, rough, jagged edges that cut into himself whenever he moved. Harry was sore from the floor, from the sobbing, and he couldn't even begin to sort through the wall of emotions crushing him under their weight. "I don't know if you saw the match or what happened after, but things turned into a right mess today. Ginny kissed me, which is something I should have seen coming in all honesty. I'd been told she had feelings for me but still tried to comfort her after the end of her relationship with Dean, and she misconstrued things. Luna saw the kiss, and I couldn't find her to try and explain what had happened. Even if I do, though...what could I possibly tell her?" he asked, tears falling fresh as he spoke to a dead godfather that he wasn't even sure was listening to him. "I mean, she trusted me and I let her down. What's left if we don't have enough trust left to open up to each other? Without that, we can't be ourselves any longer, and we can't tell each other that things will be alright because we won't believe it any more. What's left but two broken people who can't do anything aside from cause each other pain no matter how hard we try to fix our problems? I just don't know what to do, Sirius. I could really use you here right now, you old dog." he finished, ending his rant as he simply continued to cry quietly. Part of him was almost waiting for an answer, but of course there wasn't one.

This last experience left him with one more fear, which could actually be categorized as a genuine concern depending on who you asked. That fear was that perhaps this was finally too much for him and he'd gone crazy. Talking to yourself was bad enough, but reaching out for advice to a dead godparent instead of actually seeking out a living friend was surely a sign of growing insanity. Maybe if he went crazy though, the pain wouldn't quite hurt as much. That thought made a bitter laugh escape him, and he shook his head as he got up. "No, it would never be that easy." he told himself. Strangely enough, in spite of his concern about the state of his sanity he thought that his 'talk' with Sirius had actually been the most normal part of his time down here alone. Sirius had been the one adult in his life that he trusted without reservation, so it made sense that he would want to reach out to him...even if he was beyond the veil. He knew it was morbid, but that actually brought a faint hint of a smile to his lips. No matter where either of them were, the bond between them could never fully be broken.

Harry was certain that he looked like he hell, but he slowly forced himself to walk out of the room and made the long, slow walk to Gryffindor tower. Each step felt like he was dragging a bag of stones beside him, but he forced himself to push through. By the time he arrived the party was long over and he was able to make it to his dorm in peace. He made his way to his bed, and even though he still didn't feel like he'd earned its comfort he let himself fall onto its warm embrace. The emotions running through him had left him exhausted even though he hadn't really registered that until he'd gotten up to leave that dark, lonely room, and before he knew it he was fast asleep. You would have thought he'd have nightmares after the trying events of the day, but his brain was too tired to torture him with those right now and he actually had a surprisingly deep sleep that night. It wasn't much of a silver lining, but at least it was something.

* * *

`(OvO)´

The first thing Harry saw when he woke up was another brief flash of a crying Luna, and he let out a groan as he rolled over. Harry was well aware he'd fucked up at this point and wasn't too happy about his brain reminding him all the time, but he still didn't know what to do about it. Instead of figuring that out, he decided to tackle a problem that he could solve and that was getting himself a shower. His muscles were tight and sore after last night, there were still crusty salt trails over his cheeks and neck, and he'd been lying on the floor for he didn't even know how long so his clothes were dirty as well even though he'd changed after the Quidditch match yesterday. "Come on, you can do it." he told himself, as he slowly propped himself up into a sitting position on the bed before reaching his feet over the edge and finding the ground beneath him. It was still the weekend as the game had been on Saturday, but it seemed he had slept later than the rest of his dorm mates as all he saw were empty beds when he looked around. That suited him just fine, and grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt in addition to his socks and underwear before heading for the shower.

There was usually nothing more calming than taking a hot shower, but that was also because his thoughts weren't usually trying to torture him. The guilt and pain were still there, as well as his fear and self-loathing for not having avoided this situation entirely. In addition to those returning feelings from last night was something he hadn't even gotten to yet, and that was a crippling anxiety threatening to suffocate him every time he tried to ask himself what he should do. At this point there weren't really good options left to him, all that was left was to see what he could salvage of the wreckage that had become his life overnight. Regardless of whether Ginny had been able to find Luna he knew he would need to talk to her, that was his first priority and by far the most important. After that, it would be either filling in Ron or Hermione on what had happened. Of the two, he would much prefer it to be Hermione as he still wasn't thrilled at the prospect of having to tell Ron the necessary part in the story of his sister kissing him. There was really no way to guess how he would react, but his gut told him that it wasn't going to be pretty. As for Hermione, he wasn't sure how she would take this news but he figured he stood a better chance of being able to explain things at least.

Taking some soap and a washcloth he began to scrub himself clean, not stopping until his skin had a slight pink tinge to it from how rough he'd been. Harry proceeded to wash his hair and then simply soaked in the water until his muscles eased up. There was still an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he knew that was more because of his situation than anything else so turned the water off and stepped out. He found a towel and dried off before getting dressed and made his way to the Gryffindor common room. This was where he actually found other people, and not surprisingly he felt less like the Harry Potter he'd gradually grown into at this school and more like the freak from his childhood, sticking up out of place like a sore thumb. It didn't matter if any of them even knew what had happened because he knew, and he hung his head as he looked at the floor. He didn't deserve to look at any of them until he had done the right thing and talked to Luna. A few people tried to congratulate him on his first win as captain but Harry simply brushed them off and got out of there as quickly as he could.

His heart was racing and by the time he exited the common room his chest was heaving as he tried to catch his breath, panic setting in. He had seen a few kids at school have this sort of reaction a long time ago, it was a panic attack. Usually they would get a paper bag and breathe into it, but here he had nothing like that to use. Closing his eyes, he slid down the wall until he found the floor and he wrapped his arms around his legs, hugging them to him. The pressure on his forehead served as a distraction and he squeezed harder, his glasses sliding off into his lap but thankfully not breaking. He was shaking from the strain of holding on for dear life and the pressure threatening to crush him, but after a couple minutes the attack gradually started to release its stranglehold on him. Once it finally did he slowly stood up again, a few tears of relief slipping out that he quickly brushed away and he began to walk once again. "Well, I guess I'll have to add a trip to Madam Pomfrey as well." he told himself. Harry was a little unsteady on his feet and knew he needed to eat. But that could wait, he needed to find Luna. Only now was he able to remember what he had completely forgotten about yesterday, and he pulled out the Marauder's Map.

He just barely remembered to duck into a shadowy alcove by a suit of armor before activating the map with a tap of his wand and a reciting of the familiar phrase. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Harry's eyes instantly began to pore over the map in search of Luna's name, the usual wonder he had upon seeing the magic of this item lost in his intense desire to find her. Whatever she said would be better than nothing, no matter how much pain he saw in her eyes or felt burning deep in his chest he had to grit his teeth and bear it. Luna was important to him, and if he couldn't give her that much than he might as well just leave Hogwarts now. Finally his eyes found her name attached to a dot, and he nodded as he realized he probably should have guessed the spot. She was on the outskirts of the forbidden forest near what he thought was the area the Thestrals used to gather. The creatures did have a macabre sense about them, but they were also rather gentle and he was certain that she found them comforting. It was enough to get a small chuckle out of him, and he pocketed the map before going off to find her. "As always, that girl is much smarter than I am." he told himself.

As he exited the castle and walked out onto the grounds Harry wanted more than anything to turn around and run. Even hiding seemed like a better idea than doing this, even though he knew that he would just end up in the same state as he was last night there wouldn't be any new unpleasant memories to torture himself with. Harry did his best to ignore it, the pounding of his feet on the ground a little jarring but a necessary distraction to break up the jumble of his thoughts and keep him moving. It didn't take him long before he found Luna and the Thestrals, partly because he hadn't bothered to be subtle about going towards the forest. If somebody saw him and he got detention that was just fine, so long as he could see Luna first. He couldn't call her his any longer, he knew that...but it couldn't stop a stray thought from briefly thinking it as a tear slipped down his cheek. She looked so peaceful there with the Thestrals that Harry hated to disturb her, but he knew that it was time for him to say something. "Luna, I think it's time we discuss what happened." he said, his voice rough and tinged with a tangle of his uncomfortable emotions as he stared down the prospect of a conversation that could break him into tiny little pieces. To his credit, he stood his ground even though he had to brace his hand on a tree for some support.

Luna finished feeding the Thestral she had been tending to before leaving the rest of the food on the ground for them. Only after she was done did she turn to Harry, and began to stalk towards him with a cold, angry look in her eyes that made him queasy. She may be unusual, but he was still of the opinion that she could be the scariest of all of them when she wanted to be. She didn't speak yet, just walked up to him and looked into his eyes for a good long moment before slapping him with all the strength that she had. The force of the blow rocked him to the side and he stumbled into the tree he'd been bracing against, blood forming where his cheek had been smashed into his teeth as well as at the corner of his lip. His cheek felt like it was on fire as it instantly began to swell, but all he did was spit out the blood on the ground before looking at her again. He met her eyes and this time the cold anger was replaced with a Luna whose lip was quivering as she tried to find something to say, fear and worry and hurt and disappointment all plain enough now for him to see. His betrayal of her trust had left a ruin in its path of destruction, and he hated himself for bringing her to such a state. Just as he was about to break the silence on his own she reached out and put her hand over his lips. "No, Harry Potter. You do not get to talk...not yet." she told him, fixing him with a glare before pulling her hand back. "You betrayed my trust, and I don't give a flying fuck what the circumstances around it were. I warned you that Ginny had feelings for you, and I thought it went without saying that along with that was a message to be careful around her. I heard about her break-up with Dean, and you should have given her space. Instead you had to go and do your 'saving people' thing as Hermione calls it, and you put her in a situation where she turned to you to find comfort. Whether you kissed her first or not it doesn't bloody matter, because it's still your fault you berk!" she yelled at him, tears welling up and starting to spill over that she quickly rubbed away. "What did you think you could accomplish by finding me Harry? What's left of the careful, delicate relationship we were starting to build? You. Broke. It." she said, jabbing him with her finger after each word to drive the point home before falling into silence. "Well? I do want an answer, you know." she told him, crossing her arms as she waited for him to speak.

Harry felt Luna's words slam into him like sledgehammers but he didn't really care about that right now. Even in her state of frustrated anger she was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen. He was grateful that she didn't hold back or pull her punches with either the slap or the words because at least she las still showing him how she felt. That alone gave him a small taste of relief even though her words had proved that most of his fear and concern about this conversation wasn't too far off the mark. The last point of him having broken their fragile relationship hurt the most, and her driving that home with finger jabs made his own tears start to fall. She had been right with everything she'd said, so he left off advocating to save their relationship. Instead, he met her eyes even though it made his insides boil with pain upon seeing her in such a state because of what he'd done. He held her gaze and let his tears fall free, let her see how broken he was. "You're right Luna, there's no excuse. You deserve better." he told her. "Ginny did kiss me first after I saw her after the game and I stopped to check on her. I also know that her having initiated the kiss doesn't change anything between us or make it better. Also, I don't care if you want to beat me up or string me up to hit me with a whip I'll do anything...whatever it takes to stay in your life. In whatever capacity you'll have me. For what it's worth, I am more sorry than you'll ever know for what happened." he finished, the words rushing out of him before he'd even planned out what to say. Having not been planned beforehand, though, he thought that they probably rang closer to the truth. He hadn't known how he could express how he felt to her, but at least he'd made a small start.

His words were honest, that much Luna could tell and she cocked her head to one side as she studied him. It was clear that she was a little uncertain of what to do, and hadn't been expecting him to see her side of things. She'd been prepared for the Harry trying to save their relationship, not for the Harry who was willing to simply apologize and let her make her own decision on what he would be in her life. Biting her lip, Luna cautiously stepped forward as she looked into his eyes. They were filled with fear, concern for her, a bitter thread of self-hatred for having caused her pain, uncertainty, and deeply buried where she almost couldn't see it a tiny glint of hope she was sure he had no idea was even there. But it was, and that small amount of hope made the fist that was threatening to crush her heart loosen up ever so slightly. Whatever this was, she would gladly take it over not having it.

Tears spilled out hot and fast but before he could do anything Luna pulled Harry closer by the front of his shirt and crashed her lips against his. She was still angry, still hurt, still unsure of her footing with him but she was damned determined to find it and he eventually began to kiss her back as his arms wrapped around her in a tight hug. The kiss tasted of the salt from their tears and his bloody lip, and was filled with more heat and intensity they'd ever shared with each other before as they fought to find their way back to each other. They were raw, messy, angry, and hurting something terrible...but the moment was real and threatened to overwhelm them with its power. Before she had never really understood people that broke up and got back together all the time, but if it was because it made for moments like this maybe they were onto something. Eventually breaking the kiss, she buried her head in his chest and threatened to crush him with her own embrace. It almost knocked him over again but once more he fell against the tree and that kept him up. It was enough to make Luna laugh a little and she shifted her grip on him to make it a little lighter. "I won't say I forgive you, because I don't think that's something I'm capable of. Maybe it's childish of me, but I want you all to myself and I don't share." she told him. "All I can tell you is I'm still willing to try. That's all I can give you right now, and it's more than I should be offering." Luna said. By all rights she should be walking away, but even a poisoned, messy version of them was still so special. Perhaps it was wrong of her to want to hold onto it, but she found that she did want to after all.

The last thing on earth he'd been expecting was a crying Luna to kiss him like she had, and Harry had kissed back with everything she had. He'd shown her how he felt, and she seemed to accept him for what that was. The kiss was a broken one of two hurting people, but that made it all the more memorable and it was a moment Harry knew that he would never in a million years forget. Her being able to put herself out there like that after he had betrayed the trust she'd placed in him made his head spin. Maybe part of what was making his head spin was the kiss as well. He didn't really know and it wasn't important, and instead he focused on holding onto her. Once again his friend the tree proved helpful in keeping him up, and he began to stroke her long, blonde hair as she spoke. Her forgiveness wasn't something he had been expecting so he simply nodded. "Luna, I don't want anybody or anything else. If you still want the messy idiot that is Harry Potter, he's all yours. Thank you." he whispered, leaning in and giving her a tender kiss before he simply held onto her.

Smiling as they embraced each other, Luna finally felt the fist squeezing her heart loosen. It was still there, hovering and ready to crush her again if something else were to happen; but, for the moment it was letting her be. She simply held onto him like that for what had to have been at least five to ten minutes before finally letting go. "Come on, we should be heading back. I don't know about you but I wasn't really hungry before, but now I'm starving. It seems you returned my appetite after stealing it away, funny how that worked out. Come on." she said, grabbing his hand and starting to head back out of the forest and towards Hogwarts. Harry laughed, scrambling to keep up with her. They were far from perfect, but maybe with a bit of luck and a lot of hard work the two of them could start to figure things out together.


	17. Chapter 17: Fallout

Chapter 17: Fallout

Luna and Harry made their way back to Hogwarts while maintaining tightly clasped hands, neither of them wanting to let go of the other after the ordeal they'd been through. At the moment it was like that refreshing feeling after a storm, a breath of new life being breathed back into their relationship that both were fearful might not survive. It wasn't surprising at all for them to want to hold on to that feeling, to use it as the start of building a stronger foundation for things to come. As they began to walk through the halls of Hogwarts they noticed that the halls were strangely quiet, and that was when the noise from the Great Hall started to make itself heard. The quiet clamor of students talking and eating told them that while they had been out with the Thestrals lunch had started without them. Both Harry's and Luna's stomachs rumbled as began to smell the scents drifting towards them, and Luna let out a giggle. "Guess I'm not the only one who was too distraught to find anything to eat. Come on, let's go grab a bite." she said, leading the way into the hall.

Harry really should have been able to predict what would happen when he entered the Great Hall sporting a bloody lip and a shiny, swollen red handprint on his cheek; but, alas almost all the heads in the Great Hall turning towards him took him by surprise. They took in his appearance and that they were holding hands again, and there was a moment of silence before conversation burst forth with renewed vigor. Clearly the Hogwarts rumor mill had already been spreading word of what happened with him and Ginny so were rather surprised to see him and Luna paired together. Eventually the decision came of where to sit and Luna reluctantly let go of his hand before kissing his uninjured cheek. "Go ahead, we can hang out later if you want. I'm sure your friends will want to talk to you." she told him, before skipping over to an empty seat at the Ravenclaw table and smiling as she loaded up a plate of food that she immediately began to dig into.

The trip to the Gryffindor table wasn't near as pleasant for Harry, and he found himself annoyed that once again he was the center of attention for things outside of his control. If somebody else got slapped it might be the subject of conversation for an hour or two, but when it was him the entire school had to make a big deal about it and it would probably take most of a week before it began to die down. Perhaps a tad exaggerated, but then again perhaps not. Looking for his friends Harry spotted Hermione and Ginny sitting across from each other. To his utter confusion Ron was sitting next to Lavender Brown, who was half-draped over him and kept interrupting Ron's gorging of himself to kiss him. He'd had no idea she even liked him, or that Ron had ever even thought about her as anything other than a reasonably attractive girl. As he passed where they were sitting he heard her call Ro"n by the pet name 'Won-Won', and it was disturbing enough to send a chill down his spine before he found an empty spot that Hermione had been saving beside her in hopes he would show up. "Thanks Hermione, I'm starving." he told her, and began filling his plate until it was about to topple over before taking a long drink from a goblet of orange juice that appeared and began to set to.

Harry had barely gotten started when Ginny spoke up, looking over at Harry with an ashamed, guilty expression on her face. "Harry, can we talk for a minute?" she asked, and he reluctantly finished chewing and swallowed his mouthful before giving her a nod to go ahead. "Look, I understand that what I did yesterday was wrong and I want to say I'm sorry. I got into it with Lavender about something and Dean overheard what was being said and broke up with me, but I never really had time to cool off. We had the match, and after that I was just so grateful you showed up when I needed someone to talk to that I let my crush on you get the better of me. It wasn't planned or anything, and...and I know that doesn't make that much of a difference but I really am sorry if it made things difficult for you. Are, are you okay?" she asked him, her eyes darting to the bright red mark on his cheek and the bloody lip as she took in his appearance. He looked tired, but much happier than she would have thought. Perhaps Luna and him holding hands on their way in meant they'd managed to work things out somehow.

Listening to what Ginny had to say gradually started to make Harry angry. If it was only what she'd done to him he could have gotten over it, but she had done this to her oldest childhood friend and didn't even say anything about apologizing to her at all. It was unbelievable! "Okay Ginny, I'm going to be blunt. Work things out with Luna if you can, I'm not the only one that your actions had an impact on. I thought she was one of your closest friends, and you stabbed her in the back because you were upset. You're right that it doesn't matter if you planned it or not, because actions speak louder than words and yours were selfish." Harry told her, pausing to let that sink in before continuing. "Until you sort it out with her I don't want to talk to you at all except for during Quidditch practice. Do you understand?" Harry asked her, studying her expression as he saw tears beginning to well up in her eyes and start to spill over.

"I-I understand, Harry. Enjoy your lunch." she told him, grabbing her bag and darting out of the Great Hall at a good clip in hopes people wouldn't notice her crying. A few people did, but they had the good sense not to comment on it and focused on their meal. A flash of red hair disappeared past the doors, and then she was out.

Meanwhile, Harry let out a heavy sigh and went back to his meal. Almost right on cue he felt Hermione's gaze boring into him and he once again stopped eating to look at his best friend. Ron may have been his best mate, but whenever he'd really needed someone to talk to Hermione was the person of choice. It was obvious by the look in her eyes she was angry with him for his treatment of Ginny just now. "Harry, what on earth was that? Ginny had a horrible day and she made a mistake. Instead of treating her with kindness like you almost always do with people you choose to rake her over the coals. I understand that your relationship with Luna is important to you but did you really have to go and bully her like that?" she asked him, her voice filled with anger as she attempted to defend her friend. Usually she didn't have to tell Harry to be careful of other people's feelings and she was rather disappointed in him that she had been forced to now.

Harry's eyes turned ice cold as he regarded Hermione, the emerald green color resembling the a hardened gem more as they turned more calculating than she was used to seeing from him. "Hermione, how long have we been best friends?" he asked her, the question stopping her dead in her tracks as she looked at him in confusion. Clearly that had not been what she'd been expecting to hear.

Hermione took a moment to think before answering. "Nearly five years now, Harry. We became best friends after that night with the troll on Halloween when you and Ron came to save me. What's that have to do with how you treated Ginny, though?" she asked him, her arms crossing as she waited for him to explain himself. Usually Hermione was good at figuring things out, but she had absolutely no idea where Harry was going with this conversation.

Nodding at her answer, he gave her a brief smile. "Yeah, that was a crazy night. Five years you've known me better than anyone here Hermione. Now, during that time what did I always do when I saw someone being bullied?" he asked her, his eyes pinning her down as he began to slowly come to the point. "Go on, take your time and think about if you need to. I'll wait." he told her, seeing the beginning hooks of his conversation begin to dig in. Harry needed to drive a point home to Hermione, mainly that point being that he wasn't going to put up with her overbearing attitude in trying to control his behavior. She didn't always know what the best course of action was, and in this particular instance her accusing him of bullying Ginny was absolutely ridiculous. Keeping their distance from each other as much as they could was the kindest thing he could do for her right now.

"Well, usually with Malfoy the two of you would trade insults. With people in the DA you would simply help whoever needed it the most. The whole reason you started the DA in the first place was to navigate around the bully that was Dolores Umbridge. As far as I know you always try to put a stop to any sort of bullying whenever you see it. Well, with the exceptions of when the fake Mad-Eye Moody turned Malfoy into a ferret and I punched him during third year. But I can't really blame you on that account." Hermione told him with a bit of a chuckle. "From what I've noticed, you take the bullying of other people quite personally. If I were to hazard a guess I would say it's because you used to be bullied as well." she told him, making Harry sigh before giving a nod to confirm her guess.

"Right on all counts, no surprises there." Harry told her, before leaning in closer to her. "Now, before you talk again please hear me out. There are a lot of reasons why I don't want to speak to Ginny right now. The first one is that she took it upon herself to jeopardize my first real relationship for no other than reason than her being upset and me being there trying to offer a bit of friendly support. Luna understands what I've gone through and had to deal with even better than you do, Hermione. It's amazing the way she sees the world and always tries to treat people with kindness, and because Ginny didn't stop for one moment to think about what she was doing she put everything we've worked hard to build in danger." he said, his hands balling into fists as he continued and attempted to keep it together. The second reason I'll give you is that she and Luna have been close friends for years before they even came to Hogwarts! As far as I know I'm the first person Luna has ever decided to date and she tries to steal one of her closest friend's boyfriends? I'm sorry, but that is not in any way, shape, or form remotely acceptable and she needs to speak with her directly before I start speaking to her. Luna would have every reason to suspect her of making a move on me again and I do not want to put her through that when it can be avoided. Here's another reason if you still need one...Ginny needs to realize that her actions can cause permanent damage. If I were to let this blow over and treat her the same as I always have then maybe she would start to think that what she did wasn't a big deal and she could try it again either on me or somebody else. She needs to learn from this, and if it means I have to be hard on her I'll do what I have to do to drive that point home. I'm sure I could come up with more, but those are the main reasons why I treated her. Creating some distance should give her some time to think, and more importantly will keep me from lashing out at her in ways that will only make things worse for both of us. It protects all of us, at least that's my hope." Harry finished explaining. He was pleased to see that by the time he was finished Hermione had her mouth hanging open in shock. His best friend had never seen him dissect a situation like that with such precision and she was more than a little impressed.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I had no idea you'd put that much thought into handling Ginny. I suppose I should have more faith in you, it's just...well, I'm used to you diving into situations headfirst without thinking things through. Up until recently, that's been your modus operandi. But, I suppose you've changed a lot since the battle at the Ministry and I just didn't notice. Perhaps we can spend some more time together soon and I can work on fixing that." Hermione told him with a sad smile. Luna had probably had an influence on him, but she also suspected that a lot of the reason for the changes probably had a lot to do with Sirius' death as well.

Harry let out a bitter laugh when she mentioned him changing after the battle at the Ministry. "Funny how accidentally sending your godfather to his death can do that to a person. I know it was his choice to come and help us, but it doesn't change the fact that if not for me he wouldn't have needed to. Going forwards after something like that, well I want to do a better job of planning. I'm going to have to, or I'm not going to survive this war." he told her. It might seem like a bit of a bleak outlook, but honestly he thought he was being pretty realistic.

Hermione took that in for a few moments as she stared off into the distance before looking back at Harry. "You're growing up so fast, I mean we all are but you more than any of us. I guess pressure does that to a person, it either makes or breaks them." she said, shaking her head before standing up. "I'll let you get back to your meal, you really do look like you need it right now. If you need me I'll either be in the common room or in the library. Oh, and before I go...Ron and Lavender are an item now. She started snogging him after the Quidditch match and that git made a big show of it. Makes me sick, so I'll probably be avoiding him as much as humanly possible." she told him before heading off towards Gryffindor tower.

A quick glance over at Ron and Lavender showed her to be sitting with her legs in his lap as she sat sideways on the table, feeding him his food in a rather disturbing display of teenage stupidity. Harry would probably follow Hermione's lead on avoiding the pair of them, although he hoped he could at least talk to Ron a little without her. For one thing he needed to help Ron get his head out of his arse and tell Hermione how he felt, but he also needed to clear the air with him about what had happened with Ginny and why he would be shunning her until she'd done as he asked and sorted things out with Luna. Even after she'd done that he wasn't sure what kind of friendship they could try to make work, but he would at least be open to the possibility at that point.

Shaking his head to clear it of weighty thoughts, Harry finally began to focus on his meal and packed it away. By the time the desserts appeared he felt much more like himself and had a bit of his favorite treacle tart before finally getting up and finding Luna at the Ravenclaw table. "Hey, I'm going to go ahead and get a start on my homework. If I have time when I'm finished I'll come find you, but I'm not really sure how long it's going to be. Was planning on working on things after the match but because of what happened that didn't really happen." he explained to her.

Luna finished eating her chocolate pudding and flashed him a bright smile. "Okay Harry, just do your best. We'll have plenty of time together on other days if we can't make it happen today. So don't worry about rushing, okay?" she asked him, getting a nod from Harry in response. "Excellent, I should probably be catching up on my work as well now that you mention it. So don't feel too bad about missing out on an exciting day. I'd say we could study together, but I would probably get too distracted and start snogging you. Can't have that, can we?" she asked him, looking to read his response.

Harry blushed right on cue and let out a laugh. "You're adorable. And probably right, we would just keep distracting each other. Have a good day, Luna." he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek before leaving the Great Hall and setting out to get caught up on his classes.

* * *

`(OvO)´

Harry did as he said he was going to, and set to on the essays he needed to do with a will not seen in previous years. So far this year he had been doing his homework on his own instead of with Ron and Hermione, and he'd noticed that without the distractions of others he had been able to focus much better. He knocked out DADA first, followed by Potions and Charms. Things were coming along quite nicely and his fellow Gryffindors in the common room were giving him room to work where he'd set up on a comfortable rug near the fire. All of that abruptly changed when an angry Ron came in, walking straight over to Harry. "Mate, we need to talk. Why don't we head to our dorm?" he suggested, voice brimming with the famous Weasley temper he was attempting to rein in as much as he could. His face was red from the strain of that difficult task.

Looking up at his friend, he took in the situation and Harry crossed his arms. "I'm in the middle of working on my classes Ron, I'm not moving. You can say whatever it is you have to say right here, or you can wait until I'm done." he told him, presenting him with two options that he was sure Ron wouldn't be a fan of. If Ron wanted to make a scene he would be heard just as easily from their dorm as he would in the middle of the common room. As seen with Mrs. Weasley's famous howlers, they could yell with the best of them when they needed to. Harry could only assume that Ron had probably found out about his decision to essentially cut Ginny out of his life at the moment and was here to play devil's advocate for her. He was rather curious what arguments he could possibly have to defend her and try to persuade him that he was wrong in his decision, so he waited patiently for his friend to present said arguments.

Clearly that wasn't the answer Ron had been expecting from him, and it stopped him in his tracks for a moment as he weighed whether confronting him where others could hear was worth it. Eventually he reached a conclusion and took a seat in the armchair next to him, turning it so that it faced away from the rest of the room. "Okay, I guess this'll have to do, then. Look, Harry...I know Ginny kissing you out of the blue like that isn't acceptable behavior, and believe me I'm not trying to say you should just brush it off. But, did you have to give her an ultimatum like that? After Lavender and I broke off to do our own thing I found my little sister crying in a broom closet. She's a wreck right now and she needs her friends. I'll be honest with you, our group is all she's got here at Hogwarts. If you cut her out, she doesn't have much left. Can you reconsider?" he asked, giving him a pleading look as he tried to appeal to Harry's good graces.

Hearing this from Ron didn't surprise him in the slightest, but it did make him feel rather sad. When Harry's name came out of the goblet of fire in fourth year Ron failed to have his back, and even though their friendship had survived the breach in their trust had never really recovered. It was a big part of the reason why he had started to rely more and more on Hermione when it came to serious matters. Now here he was in his first serious relationship and Ron is sticking up for his sister without even having asked how Harry was doing after what happened. Sure he'd probably seen him and Luna holding hands but he hadn't asked if they were okay, if Luna was alright having her oldest friend make a move on her boyfriend. He wasn't angry any longer with Ron, he was past that point. All that was left now was the bitter taste of disappointment. After a long pause as those thoughts and feelings hit him like a wave and threatened to pull him under he raised his head to look at Ron. "You don't understand, Ron. If I try to brush this under the rug and keep pretending like nothing happened that's basically like telling Luna that what Ginny did doesn't deserve consequences. She made a choice, and it was a poor one. I'll tell you what I told her, mate...it's between Luna and Ginny now. Until they work it out, I am not going to put myself in a situation where Luna could misconstrue what's happening between us. She's important to me, too." he told him calmly. Once he was done Harry waited for an explosion of Ron's temper or a complaint, but all he got was a thoughtful silence as his friend thought over what he'd just said.

Ron looked over at Harry and brushed his messy red hair out of his eyes before putting a hand on his shoulder. "I can respect that. If Ginny asks I'll tell her she needs to respect your decision, too. You're right...this isn't just about what is happening to her. Guess I just let my protective streak get the better of me. Are you and Luna, I mean...you worked it out, yeah?" he asked him, biting his lip as he knew it was probably a sensitive subject right now. Even though he thought they had, it obviously hadn't come without a bit of a row judging from his split lip and the bruise that was forming on his cheek. It was rather difficult to imagine Luna slapping someone so hard as to cause that much damage, but clearly she packed a bigger punch than one would think.

_Clearly asking about us was an afterthought, but it's better than nothing. Maybe there's hope for him yet. _Harry appreciated the sentiment and gave him a nod before brushing off his hand. "Yeah, I suppose we did manage to figure it out. I...I think we'll be stronger for it, but...the pain from it all is still fresh. I've never been more scared of losing anything in my life. When I finally got to talk to her I thought that it was going to be it. Ginny wasn't the only one who made a mistake I shouldn't have given her the chance to kiss me in the first place, either." he admitted. It hadn't been intentional, but without thinking about it he'd given a vulnerable Ginny the chance to make her move by offering comfort. All he could do now was try to learn from the mistake and not repeat it in the future. "I don't know how or why Luna found it in herself to trust me again not to hurt her, but she did. Having known for a brief time what it was like to imagine a life without her, I don't ever want to go through that again. So I'm being careful and trying to be more considerate of her, because she deserves better." he explained, wiping away a few tears that had begun to fall as he talked to his friend.

Seeing his best mate like that shocked Ron, because the two of them had only been dating for a short time. Most teen romances he knew were either brief flings or just about exploring the world of snogging like he was doing with Lavender, but clearly Harry and Luna were attempting to build something much more permanent. Now it started to make sense why Harry had reacted so harshly when Ginny interfered. "That's a lot to deal with, mate. I wish you the best of luck." he told him, about to get up before he paused and sat back down. "Do-do you love her, Harry?" he asked him.

The question was one hadn't been remotely prepared for, and Harry's head began to spin as he tried to figure out some sort of answer. The closest thing he'd had to seeing any sort of love had been his experiences with the Weasley family, Sirius, and the friendship love he shared with Ron and Hermione. Cho Chang had been nothing more than an ill-considered crush. What he felt for Luna was certainly a powerful feeling, but he had nothing to really compare it to in terms of a romantic relationship. He thought about what people said about love, though...how people only wanted what was best for the other person no matter the cost to themselves. That was why he'd been preparing himself for Luna to break up with him, because after Ginny kissed him he thought she deserved much better than someone like him. Not only that, but he also thought of her all the time and would try to do anything to make her smile or hear her laugh at a silly joke. His life only felt complete when they were together, balancing each other out and being there to listen to whatever the other had to say. He didn't have to hide around her, and she didn't have to hide around him. Harry didn't know if that's what love was, but he thought that sort of thing was what he wanted it to be. A few more tears spilled over, and he wiped at them again before giving Ron a shrug and a sheepish smile. "You know Ron, I think I do. I love Luna Lovegood." he said, a warm feeling of contentment washing over him as he said it out loud for the first time.

Even Ron could tell that coming to that realization was an important moment for Harry and reached over to pull him into a hug, thumping him on the back as he did before letting go. "Good on you. You do what you have to do and don't let her down, Harry. The rest of us will manage." he told him, before turning the armchair back around and leaving Harry to his homework as he went up to their dorm.

Of all the people he would admit something like that to he never would have guessed in a million years that it would be Ron. His friend's actions really showed that people could always surprise you. Not really feeling like doing homework after such a deep conversation, he began to organize his things and packed them into a neat pile. The essays he tied up with ribbons and put them on top of the pile of his school books before he took it all up to place by his bed. Once that was done, Harry pulled out the Marauder's Map and went once again in search of Luna. While he wasn't ready to tell her just yet about his being in love with her, he definitely wanted to spend some quality time with his incredible girlfriend.


	18. Chapter 18: The Dirigible Duo

p style="text-align: center;"Chapter 18: The Dirigible Duo/p

"Luna wasn't the sort of girl who'd made a lot of friends growing up. Part of the reason for that was a lot of the community around her was muggle and she didn't want to accidentally let slip something about the wizarding world, but the other reason was that she'd always been different from the people around her. She saw things in a unique way, and a lot of people didn't really like that. One of the few exceptions to that rule had been Ginny Weasley. She had been her age and a witch so naturally she had tried to befriend the girl upon meeting her, and she had been rewarded with a friend who had always made her feel accepted and welcome whenever they spent time together. Having somebody like that was something she was more grateful for than she knew how to express. So when you take all that into account, seeing the other girl kiss her boyfriend had been more than simply a friend stabbing her in the back. It had taken the one constant rock in her world aside from her father and removing it without warning, leaving her at a loss of what to do. Ginny had been her best friend for as long as she could remember. Harry was great, but he couldn't replace the kind of bond that she had with Ginny. A part of her wanted to reach out to the other girl, but she didn't feel like she was ready to. Nor did she think that Ginny really deserved that sort of kindness after the stunt she'd pulled. Not knowing what else to do, Luna simply decided to find an abandoned classroom and cry until no more tears were left to fall, and that's exactly what she did./p

By the time she'd cried herself out she felt marginally better. She still felt fragile, and there was an unsettling emptiness in the place where Ginny's friendship used to be. It made her want to hit something, scream, and pull her hair all at the same time but she did none of those things. Instead, she rubbed at her face to get rid of the tear tracks before running her fingers through her hair to get out some of the tangles. Once she felt slightly more presentable she exited the abandoned classroom and began walking towards the entrance to the school so she could go out and get some fresh air and sunshine. Perhaps a little bit of time outside might help lift her spirits. However, just before she reached the main doors she felt somebody grab her by the arm. In an instant she whirled around with her wand out and a stupefy on her lips, ready to drop whoever had dared touch her without her consent. To her surprise though, a tired and hurting Ginny looked at her with bloodshot eyes most likely from a combination of crying and lack of sleep. Seeing her friend like that made her heart ache, and she slowly lowered her wand. "What is it, Ginny? I was planning on going outside since it's a nice day." she told her, not in the mood to play any games right now.

Ginny bit her lip, eyes darting around to see if anybody was listening in on what she had to say. "Listen, I just want to talk for a bit. I don't care where we do that if you want we can go outside somewhere. Please Luna, I need to explain what happened. If after I do you still feel like you don't want to speak to me fine, but at least hear me out. You owe me that much after how long we've been friends." she told Luna.

The redhead hadn't even properly apologized yet but Luna could already hear how sorry she was for the way things turned out in her voice. It was enough to tug at her heartstrings and she let out a long drawn out sigh. "I don't know why I'm even agreeing to this, but okay...I'll listen. Come on, I know a good spot where we won't be bothered." Luna told her, motioning for Ginny to follow as she set off across the grounds at a good clip. She led Ginny a short ways into the forbidden forest before leading her to a hollowed out tree that was plenty big enough for the both of them to fit inside. Making her way inside the hollow tree trunk, she leaned against the wood and studied her friend. "This is the spot, you can go ahead and tell me whatever it is you have to say. I'm warning you now, though Ginny...I'm not sure if I can forgive you for what happened or just move on. What you did hurt, plain and simple." she said, crossing her arms as she waited to hear what she had to say for herself.

Hearing her friend say that made Ginny wince, but she steeled herself and stepped inside the tree with her. Before she spoke she held out a hand that was holding the dirigible plum earrings Luna had given her. "Here, before we start I just wanted to give these back. Until such time as I deserve to wear them again, I think you should hold onto them." she told her. The gesture surprised Luna but she took the earrings and pocketed them. Fidgeting a little, Ginny eventually just copied Luna and leaned back against a different side of the hollow tree trunk and started to talk. "As you know, Dean and I broke up on the morning of the Quidditch game. What you may or may not know is the reason why...you see, Parvati and Lavender were gossiping in the common room and Lavender was convinced I was still crushing on Harry hard and simply using Dean as a distraction because Harry was dating somebody else. The two of us started to get into it when Dean came down and overheard what was going on. Much as I hate to admit it, Lavender was right that I still had feelings for Harry and Dean saw as much so ended our relationship right then and there. After that was the Quidditch game, and my emotions were all over the place. By the end of it, I was just so relieved to have a friend to talk to that I just relaxed around Harry. Before I knew it I was kissing him, it wasn't planned...I was just grateful for him coming to check on me and I hoped maybe it was because he cared. I wasn't thinking about you and him as a couple, or at all really...it just happened. Before I knew what had happened Harry pushed me away and you saw us, and he gave me a good tongue lashing before going to try and find you." she explained, summarizing everything that had happened for Luna. "I know nothing I can say will make what I did right or hurt any less, I betrayed my best friend for a stupid boy. Harry's great don't get me wrong, but he's still just a stupid boy and I risked the most valuable friendship I had for no reason. D-do you think we could ever most past this and be friends again?" she asked, tears starting to fall as she looked at Luna hopefully.

Luna stood there listening calmly to everything Ginny had to say, taking it in as she thought things over. By the time she finished and asked if she thought they could ever be friends again Luna sighed, shaking her head before looking intently into Ginny's eyes. "I honestly don't know Ginny, all I know is we definitely can't be friends right now. For ages you've been literally the only person my age I could trust, and you tried to take the most important person in my life away from me for no other reason than to show your 'gratitude' to him." she said, putting air quotes around the word gratitude as she shivered. "It makes me sick to even think about. What's worse is I talked to you about this in the summer, and you told me you were happy that Harry and I had gotten together. You assured me that your crush on Harry wouldn't be an issue, and then after just over a month into the school year you go and kiss him! I'm sorry, but that's not okay in any way, shape, or form." Luna told her, tears of her own starting to fall now and she let them. "Harry and I understand each other in ways that I can't even put into words, and you tried to take that away. What you did was selfish, and it's not at all like the girl I thought I knew." she told her, hands holding onto her arms as she squeezed herself, trying to hold onto something. Right now she felt unsteady, like the ground under her feet could be ripped out from under her at any moment.

To her credit, Ginny didn't try to deny anything that Luna said as she looked down at her feet. The weight of it what she had broken between them was finally starting to sink in and she forced herself to look up at her friend. "Okay. I know that I fucked up Luna, it's not like I woke up one day and set out to try and steal him from you. I made a mistake, and I really am sorry." she said again, before moving to get out of the hollowed out tree trunk. "I guess all we can do is see how things are with a little time. I'll give both of you some space. If you think of anything I can do to try and make things better just let me know." she told her, giving Luna one last wistful look before leaving her and heading back towards the castle. A few more tears fell as she left but she didn't fight it, simply letting them fall as she walked. It was okay to mourn the loss of things that were important to you, and even though there was a small chance things might be fixed in the future that didn't change the way things were now.

While Luna watched Ginny walk away she felt like her heart was being ripped into tiny pieces. She knew that she had to do this, she couldn't let what her friend had tried to do go without some sort of consequences. However, it didn't make losing her best friend any easier on her. The Dirigible Duo had been a short-lived team, and they hadn't even gotten a proper chance to go on their pranking spree at Hogwarts. Sitting on the ground where she knew nobody would find her inside her tree, she pulled her knees tight to her chin and began to cry. It started haltingly at first, but soon she was soaking her clothes with the salty tears she couldn't seem to stop. The painful sobs started to make her stomach hurt but she let it run its course, feeling more alone than she had in a long time. Luna knew that she still had Harry, but he wasn't a replacement for the best friend she had just lost.

By the time her tears finally slowed to a stop her muscles were sore from sitting like that, her stomach on fire from the sobs that had racked her body for what felt like ages. Things would never go back to the way they had been with Ginny before this happened, they simply couldn't. Perhaps in time they might find some sort of way to regain a semblance of friendship but it would never hold a candle to what they had shared before. The trust between them that had made that sort of friendship work was shattered into a thousand tiny pieces, and each one felt like they were cutting her open when she tried to pick them up and put them back together. So instead, she gathered them all up and shoved them into a corner of her brain that she did her best to wall off. It took some time, but by the time she finished doing that she felt like she could function again and she forced herself to get up. Her heart hurt, her body hurt, and she had a massive headache but now at least she felt she could move on with her day. Slowly she began what felt like a long walk back to the castle. Each step felt like it had a hefty weight to it, and she couldn't deny to herself that things had changed. Whether it would be a good one overall or a bad one she couldn't yet tell.

Her first priority upon returning to the castle was getting cleaned up, so Luna went straight to her dorm and got a change of clothes before heading to the showers. A long, hot soak later and she felt much more human. Her muscles were still tender, but the heat had helped loosen them up and it didn't hurt nearly as much to move as it had before. She stepped out and dried off before putting on some casual robes and going off to see if she could find Harry. It took her almost an hour, but she eventually spotted him heading towards the owlery and set off to catch up with him. She found him as he was coming out, presumably after sending Hedwig off with a letter or perhaps just visiting his familiar. Luna tried to speak but realized she couldn't find her voice, so settled for crushing Harry with a tight hug instead. His arms wrapped around her, and the comfortable weight of them pressing against her began to help ease her racing heart and the painful emotions that had stirred up when she saw him. It wasn't anything that Harry had done, it was just the gift of having somebody who could help share the weight of the burden she carried. Her heart was heavy, but having him there with her helped make it feel so much lighter. "I talked to Ginny. We agreed that for now it would be best if we kept our distance from each other. It...it hurt like hell telling her I wanted her to leave me alone, but I had to do it. She's always been there for me, Harry...and now that's just gone. Can I count on you?" she asked him, looking into his eyes as she searched them. Luna wanted to see a calm, reassuring presence from the boy she cared so much about. "I know you can't replace her, but I really need somebody I can rely on right now." she told him.

Seeing Luna like this was rather unsettling to Harry because she'd always been so strong. Of all of his friends he thought she was the one most prepared to handle anything that might come her way. Right now she was fragile, though. She was asking if he could be her rock in a world that felt so unsteady and he took his time before answering, his arms holding her tight while he thought. "All I can say is that I'll do my best not to let you down, Luna. I never want to see you hurt, so of course I'll do my best to be here for you when you need me." he told her. Harry leaned down to press his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and using the pressure of pushing against her lightly to ground himself. He tilted his head and his lips found hers, kissing her tenderly as one of his hands moved to her neck and the other to the small of her back, pulling her tighter to him. When he opened his eyes he knew what he had to do, and he felt himself begin to blush as he looked into the beautiful blue eyes he'd come to know so well. "Luna Lovegood, I love you." he whispered.

Luna accepted what Harry had to say, after all anyone could do was their best. When he pressed his forehead against hers she welcomed the intimacy, and was more than happy to kiss him back. The kiss was tender, sweet, and reminded her that there were still a lot of good things left in her life to enjoy. Just because she'd lost what she had with Ginny didn't mean the year couldn't still be a good one. She smiled brightly as she stared into his green eyes, and when he told her that he loved her she couldn't stop her sharp intake of breath as she looked at him in surprise. They'd only been dating for about two and a half months, so she definitely hadn't been expecting him to tell her that so soon. Caught off guard, she began to search her own feelings to see where she stood and she smiled before kissing him again. This time the kiss had more fire in it as she was the one in control, and she bit his lip hard before pulling back. "I think I just might love you too, Harry Potter. You always know just what to tell me to make me feel better." she told him with a laugh. "I never would have thought we'd fall so hard for each other, but here we are. I wouldn't trade what we have for anything." Luna said firmly. All of a sudden her world that had been out of balance was brought into focus again, and they started to make sense once more. So long as she had him by her side, she knew that no matter what happened things would be alright.

Hearing Luna say that she thought she loved him was enough to make Harry beam right back at her. For a good portion of his life he'd thought he was some unlovable freak, convinced that he would never mean anything to anybody. But here in front of him was this incredible girl saying that she thought she loved him, too. With a little time he was sure that she would be able to say it with more certainty. For now, though...he would take the opportunity to tease her a little while he could. "Oh, so you just think you love me, huh? What do I have to do to convince you of it, hmm?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. The kiss left him breathless and he didn't mind her biting his lip at all, in fact it kind of turned him on a little. Her added mushy sentiments after that comment were enough to make him more serious again, though, and he nodded. "Yeah, I never thought I would be ready for a relationship as serious as ours. It's a good thing, though...sometimes life knows what it is you need and gives it to you whether you think you're ready or not. But here we are, and it's amazing. We're not perfect, but we're real...and here for each other. Which is what really matters." he told her quietly, reaching out to grab her hand as he laced his fingers through hers.

His questioning of her 'I think I love you' was enough to make her laugh and she just rolled her eyes. "You don't have to do anything, silly. Just keep being yourself, that's all I need." Luna told him with a smile. She listened to what he had to say about their relationship and she couldn't help but agree and was more than happy to lace their fingers together. Shifting, she moved so that she was laying her head against his chest and felt herself begin to relax. Today had been an emotionally trying day and she was more grateful than he would ever now that he had chosen that moment to tell her how he felt. It was something special to hold onto as she moved forwards without her best friend. What they had was something worth fighting battles for to try and protect it, and she would continue to do what she felt she had to. "That's a pretty good point, that is what really matters. Harry, I wanted to say thank you. For everything. Without you I don't know where I'd be but I know my life wouldn't feel nearly as special as you make it for me." she said, snuggling against his chest.

Harry was happy to adjust their position and began to stroke her hair gently as she talked and he listened, smiling. She might feel like her life wouldn't be as special without him in it, but he could say the same for her. Before they'd started dating his life had just been a constant string of battles he didn't really know how to fight. He'd gotten this far mostly on luck and some talented friends, and he knew that couldn't hold out forever. With Luna by his side though, he felt like he had a real fighting chance. "Luna, you're welcome but you don't need to thank me. What we have...it's everything I could possibly want. You push me to do better and call me out when I need it. The other day you even slapped me and were right to do so. No matter what happens we'll be okay. We just have to stick together and nobody will be able to stop us." he told her, leaning down to kiss the top of her messy blonde hair. She had forgotten to brush it out after her shower and it was more of a mess than usual. Honestly though, he thought the mess was beautiful and suited her just fine at the moment.

Smiling as she listened to Harry, she simply nodded and rubbed her head against his chest before letting out a yawn. "I hope you're right, Harry. Now stay still, I'm going to use you as my pillow now and take a nice nap." Luna informed him. Wiggling a little, she moved until she felt comfortable and then felt herself begin to rapidly drift off to sleep in the arms of the boy she loved. She might have only said that she thought she did, but she knew that it was more than that. The love and support between them was real and she could feel it surrounding her, helping take away the pain of losing a good friend. As she slipped off into her wild dreams, she whispered something he could barely hear. "I really do love you too, you know."

Harry smiled as he heard it, and would have replied but he noticed Luna had already drifted off into sleep and continued to stroke her hair as he held her. This was the least he could do for her after having such a rough go of it lately. While he held her, he began to get tired as well and before he knew it he had joined her in dreamland. The both of them were having rather nice ones at the moment after having just told each other that they were in love. It was a much needed rest they had both earned, and nobody disturbed them in their slumber.


	19. Chapter 19: An Unexpected Ally

A/N: So sorry about the long delay, my keyboard on my old laptop got messed up and trying to type anything out on it was a nightmare. But now I'm back in business and will try to post at least once a week if I can manage it. Hope you enjoy the chapter, thought it was time for a little lighthearted fun.

Chapter 19: An Unexpected Ally

Luna was walking down the hallway on the seventh floor, heading towards the room of requirement when Peeves the Poltergeist zoomed towards her laughing. "Oh, that was excellent. Nicked a dungbomb off of a fourth year Gryffindor and used it to terrorize a group of first year Hufflepuffs. Little monsters didn't know what hit them." he said, doing a backflip in the air before hovering in front of her. "What are you up to today? Anything fun I can join in on?" he asked hopefully, clearly eager for more opportunities to prank unsuspecting students where he could.

Normally Luna tried to be friendly to everyone, including Peeves when they crossed paths but at the moment she was getting a little annoyed. "Look, it's not that I don't appreciate a good prank, Peeves but I'm kind of in the middle of something at the moment. Harry's noticed Malfoy disappearing in here for long periods of time and we're trying to figure out what he's up to. So, unless you happen to know what Malfoy's doing I'd appreciate it if you leave me to it." she requested, crossing her arms as she waited for Peeves to do as asked. There was no guarantee he would, but waiting was probably better than whatever else he might do to her if she attempted to go around or through him by force.

"My, my...a bit more touch today than usual. However, it just so happens I do know what the little prince of Slytherin is up to in there. I've overheard him muttering to himself about it more than once. The project he's working on is driving him quite bonkers, you see." Peeves told her with a chuckle. He could see that he'd caught her attention with that comment and smirked. "I might even be willing to share said information with you. But only if you help me with a prank first." he said. He had a fantastic idea in mind he just hadn't figured out how to pull it off yet.

Luna couldn't help but let out a high-pitched giggle at how ridiculous the situation was. Ever since Harry had noticed Malfoy disappearing in the room of requirement they'd been knocking their heads against the wall trying to figure out what he was doing. Also if what he was doing would be dangerous to the school, because they both still suspected him of being behind the cursed necklace that had hurt Katie Bell. All along Peeves, the poltergeist almost everybody tended to overlook had been sitting there with the answer. "Okay Peeves, you've got yourself a deal. I help you with this one prank, and in exchange you tell me what Malfoy's up to. Those terms sound fair?" she asked, wanting to get his agreement. He liked to get one over on people, but she was fairly sure that if he agreed to a deal he would hold up his end of the bargain.

Peeves smiled widely and gave her a nod. "Seems fair to me, Miss Loony." he told her. Most of the time when people called her that it was used as an insult, but Peeves was actually trying to be respectful. It was simply what he'd always called her. Luna seemed to take that into account and simply nodded in reply. 'Okay, now the tricky part is going to be pulling this off. You see, I want to mix Professor Snape's shampoo with this color-changing hair dye. According to the bottle it's supposed to change colors every few minutes, even doing multiple colors at once from time to time. Only problem is he keeps the bottles magically sealed and I don't have access to a wand. I need help getting them open so I can mix in the dye. Think you're up to it?" he asked.

She just gave him a knowing grin before shooting him a wink. "Oh, I think I can manage. Do you know what time he usually takes his shower? If I remember right those dyes usually take about an hour before they kick in, so we want to make sure he's in a nice public place when it starts taking effect." Luna said. It would be a real shame if nobody were to witness the intimidating Professor Snape with a variety of different hair colors. She'd tell Harry to mention something to Colin Creevey so he could get his camera ready for the occasion.

"Nothing to worry about there. From what I've seen he takes his shower at the same time every morning, puts the finishing touches on his lessons, and then goes down to the Great Hall for breakfast. If we tamper with the shampoo the night before it should hit him right in the middle of breakfast the following morning." Peeves told her, cracking his knuckles with a disconcerting series of pops. Reaching into his pocket, he produced the hair dye. "If you're sure that you're up to it, I leave the rest to you." he said, saluting her and getting a nod from her in return before zooming off to make mischief somewhere else.

Luna read the instructions on the dye before grinning and pocketing it for later. Turning away from the seventh floor she decided to head towards the Gryffindor tower to find Harry instead. A third year was heading out and was nice enough to hold the portrait open so she could enter. Sure enough Harry was sitting in the armchair nearest the fire and working on an essay. As she got closer she was able to make out that it was for Transfiguration. She waited patiently for him to finish his paragraph before grabbing him by his messy hair and kissing the top of his head. "So, I have a lead on the Malfoy situation. And the best part is all we have to do to get is prank Professor Snape." she said in a low voice. It sounded ridiculous, but sometimes life liked to be silly, and she couldn't really blame it all things considered.

Harry stopped what he was doing and leaned back so he could see her, even if it was by looking at her upside down. "You're serious? We prank Snape and somebody tells us what Malfoy's doing? Who on earth would have that be the requirement for spilling the beans?" he asked her. He couldn't really think of anybody who would have that sort of requirement off the top of his head, and he was admittedly rather curious as to who it was. Usually he would guess the Weasley twins, but they weren't at Hogwarts any longer so he was kind of at a loss.

It was kind of fun having a secret Harry didn't know about, but she wasn't going to torture him by making him wait longer to find out who it was "Believe it or not, Peeves the Poltergeist. Apparently he's been trying to get Snape but because he's paranoid and magically seals his shampoo he hasn't been able to tamper with it. I've been asked to slip some dye in there, and if all goes well he should have his hair changing color during breakfast the next day." Luna explained with a wide smile. "Now all I need is a distraction...and Snape doesn't hate anybody as much as you. Care to run interference for me?" she asked him.

That question was rather insulting, and Harry held a hand to his chest. "You wound me Luna. Anything involving pranking Snape is an automatic yes. I thought you would have known that by now." he told her, feigning hurt. It all broke down though when she leaned over him and pressed her lips against his in an upside down kiss before pulling away with a smirk. "Yeah, I'm good now. What time do you want me to cause a distraction?" he asked. Timing was everything when it came to this sort of thing, and Snape was more suspicious than most. Probably because most of the students outside of Slytherin loathed him.

Luna smiled when his facade crumbled easily with a little kiss. Some people thought getting boys to do what you wanted was difficult, but really you just had to use the right tactics. "Well, I was kind of thinking we could do it after dinner. Maybe we could shoot for half seven?" she asked him. By then it should give people enough time to get back to their common rooms after dinner so people would be less likely to spot them. The best pranks were always done in a way that nobody suspected the real perpetrators. He was sure Ron and Hermione would be suspicious, but aside from them and Snape's perpetual blaming him for everything anyway nobody should have any idea.

Harry gave her a nod, already having something in mind. You see, since he had helped the Twins get their business of the ground that had provided him with some complimentary pranking items. One of which had been used by them last year to great effect, their portable swamp. He figured all he had to do was shout some insults at Snape, lure him away from his room, and throw it behind him. It was particularly nasty to try and get rid of and he would either have to try and muddle through it or go around. Either way, it should give Luna plenty of time to tamper with Snape's shampoo. "Half seven it is. I'll lend you my cloak just to be safe. When you see the swamp appear in the hallway, that's your cue to enter." he told her with a wink. He popped up to his dorm and handed her the cloak that was folded neatly and for all appearances just looked like a blanket to anybody not in the know.

One thing that always surprised her was how generous Harry was with his things, and when he handed her his cloak Luna smiled at him. "Thanks, I'll take good care of it." she promised, before pulling him in for a heated kiss. "Once we pull this off, we should be in with my informant. I'll let you know what he says about Malfoy." she assured him. They'd had no idea what to do for a while now so finally getting a breakthrough felt amazing. If he was up to something nefarious they might even be able to catch him and finally put a stop to whatever it was he was trying to accomplish.

With that the two of them parted ways and went to their classes. They saw each other briefly at lunch and then at dinner they met for a short period of time just to reiterate their plans. Both agreed that they thought they had a solid one and got into positions. Luna took the time to slip under the invisibility cloak and hide behind a suit of armor near Professor Snape's living quarters while Harry took the more direct approach of the two. Walking up bold as brass she watched as Harry banged on the door and shouted for all to hear. "I heard the reason Neville's boggart turned into Professor Snape dressed in his aunt's clothes is because he crossdresses in real life as well." More than a few people were within earshot, the Slytherins scowling while the smattering from the other houses burst out in laughter.

One of the second years even let out a cheer as Snape burst out with an ominous swooshing of his cape. "Potter, six weeks detention and thirty points from Gryffindor for disrespecting a teacher." he said, scowling at the onlookers until they began to walk away. "Well, go on boy. Your detention isn't starting now it will be on saturday scrubbing out cauldrons the hard way." he said, crossing his arms and glaring at the Boy-Who-Lived in an attempt to get him to leave. Clearly, Harry wasn't having it though and Luna could see that he was preparing for another round of insults.

"Oh, so you don't deny my allegations? You hear that, world? It turns out my joke actually turned out to be correct. So what? Do you steal Professor Sprout's and McGonagall's robes when they're not looking? I mean really, it's one thing to do it with what you buy yourself but stooping to stealing from others as well. You really should be ashamed, Professor." Harry said, drawling out the title into a clear insult as he began to back his way down the hallway. It seemed to be working too, Professor Snape was following exactly as they'd hoped he would. If there was one thing Harry could do better than anybody else it was get under that man's skin.

Snape took the bait and was following him down the hall, completely unaware that there was something more going on behind him. "Careful now, Potter. I'm sure even Dumbledore will agree you've gone too far this time. In fact, I think it's time we ask him. Follow me, Mr. Potter." he said, sneering at him before turning and trying to make his way back down the hallway. As soon as Snape turned away Harry took that moment to throw the portable swamp and as soon as it hit the floor it took effect. Where before there had been a regular hallway there was now a nice swamp impeding Snape's path, causing him to whirl back around on Harry. "What's the meaning of this? Get rid of it immediately!" he bellowed, eyes shooting daggers at Harry.

With the attention well and truly fixed on Harry Luna took the moment to slip inside his chambers quietly. She made her way to the shower and found the sealed shampoo bottle just like Peeves had said. Pulling out her wand, she glanced around before murmuring a quiet finite incantatem. She took the dye and poured some into both his shampoo and conditioner before mixing it around and replacing the caps. She cast a sealing charm on them both before quietly slipping out of his chambers once again. Everything was going according to plan and Harry and Snape were still arguing as she made her way out safely. Once she was at the end of the corridor she stuck her hand out of the cloak and flashed Harry a thumbs up before disappearing around the corner. Now all they had to do was wait and see what would happen tomorrow at breakfast.

Harry wound up with a total of three months detention in addition to having to write a letter of apology to Snape for his blatant disrespect of him. It wasn't ideal, but all in all he thought they would get the better end of that deal with his impending public humiliation fast approaching. The best part was there was no way Snape could blame it on him since they were together the whole time. Sure he might suspect that they had set him up but he would have absolutely no proof to back that allegation up.

Both Harry and Luna were rather excited to see what happened with their plan and worked hard to get caught up on all of their classwork. Once that was done they called it an early night and headed to bed. The following morning they met in front of the Great Hall and stepped off to the side so they could talk. "I talked to Colin, he said he'll make sure to have his camera at the ready. When he asked what for I just told him to watch the teachers, so hopefully he'll be able to document this epic moment to perfection." Harry told her with a grin.

Luna couldn't help but laugh a little at Harry's enthusiasm. "That's great, I'm sure he'll do a fine job. I talked to the person with the information and if all goes as planned he said he'll be more than happy to spill the beans on what Malfoy's doing." she assured him. Reaching over, Luna grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him into a rough kiss. Before she came up for air she bit his lip hard and by the time she came up for air was a little dizzy from the intensity of it. "We need to make some more time for snogging." she told him seriously. With a smile, she smoothed out the creases in his robes and grabbed his hand as she started walking towards the Great Hall. "Let's grab some breakfast." she said eagerly.

While caught off guard by the kiss at first Harry was more than happy to return it, letting out a low moan when she bit down on his lip. Her suggestion was one he couldn't agree with more and he nodded as he tried to catch his breath. "Definitely sounds like a good idea to me." he agreed. It wasn't just the fact they would be snogging either, they needed some time alone together to just enjoy it. Walking into the hall with her, he reached over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Enjoy the show." he said, before splitting off to head to the Gryffindor table as she headed to the Ravenclaw one. He found a spot next to Hermione and loaded up his plate, digging in with a healthy appetite.

It wasn't long before Professor Snape arrived and at first everything appeared normal. His hair looked like its usual greasy black self and nothing seemed to be amiss. Five minutes later though, both Luna and Harry noticed as the edges of his hair started to turn pink. Around the middle of it there was a light purple hue and before long most of the students were snickering and discussing it among themselves as they picked up on it as well. Snape seemed to notice but didn't think anything of it until Professor Sprout leaned over and said something to him. Alarmed and sure she was wrong, he grabbed a silver goblet and held it up to himself, his expression going blank as he noticed she was in fact correct in that she'd said his hair was pink and purple. As it started to change over to a sickly green he went over to speak to Professor Dumbledore. "I don't know how he did this, but it has to be Potter's doing. To get back at me for all of the detentions I assigned and the points I took yesterday. Are you going to do something?" he asked.

Professor Dumbledore merely steepled his fingers together and looked at Professor Snape intently. "Severus, you have absolutely no proof that Harry did anything. In fact, he spent a good portion of last night with you and then talking to me in my office once we got the swamp taken care of. Innocent until proven guilty, Severus." he said, staring him down. "Now, I recommend you either finish your meal and try to enjoy the humor of the situation or leave before you spoil it for everyone else. Be a good sport old chap, we all get pranked occasionally." he told him, his eyes twinkling as he gave him a smile.

It was obvious that Snape was seriously disappointed by Dumbledore's words and shot Harry a glare before going back to his seat. Taking the plate of food and a drink, he left the Great Hall without another word as his hair began to turn into the colors of the rainbow. Colin had gotten several pictures throughout the experience and snapped another as the students applauded. They might not know who had managed to prank the obnoxious Professor Snape but it was clear that they appreciated the handiwork. The rest of the meal went by with most of the students in excellent cheer aside from the Slytherin table. Apparently many of them took affront to their head of house being treated in such a way and were not pleased.

Once breakfast was over Luna returned to the seventh floor after shooting Harry a wave and found Peeves waiting by the entrance to the Room of Requirement. He laughed and swooped over to where she was standing. "I must say I'm rather impressed Miss Loony, if you can pull off something like this we might have to work together more in future. I'll do as promised and tell you what the Malfoy brat is up to." he said, moving closer. "He's attempting to fix something called a vanishing cabinet and is having a rough time with it. They used to be quite popular from what I remember as a means of rapid teleportation. If he's trying to fix one than that means there's probably another somewhere that it's connected to." Peeves explained with a knowing grin. "That's all I know, what you do with that information is up to you." he said, before zooming off down the hall without another word.

Luna watched him go as she digested the information, trying to think of why Malfoy would go to the trouble of fixing an old vanishing cabinet. All she knew about them was they tended to break and were rather difficult to fix. She knew that they could create passageways but Hogwarts usually tended to block out any form of teleportation to or from unless Dumbledore was allowing it. The only reason she could think of to fix it was to either take it out of Hogwarts or sell it. Unless...unless it had some weird way of circumventing the wards that Hogwarts operated within. "A lot of questions but no good answers, looks like I have a lot of research ahead of me." she said with a determined look in her eyes.

After taking the time to fill Harry in on what she learned she headed straight to the library and got to work. Before long she had a pile of books in front of her and quickly began to realize why Malfoy was so frustrated with trying to fix the broken cabinet. None of the books seemed to agree on exactly how the cabinets functioned, which meant trying to fix anything would be a lot of guesswork in trying to understand how exactly things worked. After about two hours she put them away and decided to call it a day for now, and headed back to Ravenclaw tower. She was in the mood for a nice long nap and she wasn't going to let anything interfere with that desire.


	20. 20: Nightmares of Futures Yet to Pass

A/N: Sorry about the long delay, but the last saturday I had off from the overtime at work I had to spend cleaning the house and cooking for the coming week. Also, I just recently popped the question to my girlfriend of over two years and she agreed to marry me. Looking at a wedding in Fall of 2021 most likely if all goes to plan, so super stoked about that. Hope you enjoy the chapter, really start to see some threads of the plot I've been working towards start to come together and their repercussions. This is also the beginning of where this starts to become more and more AU from canon and more of my original plotline. I'd already changed some things like Harry not discovering Snape's old potions book. All I will says is that somebody has been using it and it will come into play eventually. As always please read and review!

P.S. If anybody would like to beta this story please message me. I would love the assistance!

Chapter 20: Nightmares of Futures Yet to Pass

Harry felt a burning in his scar, and as he did his dreams faded from that of his friends and girlfriend Luna to a room that looked to be inside Hogwarts judging by the large blocks of stone that made up the walls. All around him were a mix of objects that would never be seen together perhaps save an ancient hoarder's home that hadn't been touched in years. Piles upon piles that had formed sort of rows covered the entirety of a giant room and Harry found himself slowly walking through it. Eventually his gaze settled on a wardrobe that had a bust on top of it, and on top of the bust was a silver diadem with a blue sapphire in the middle of it shaped in an oval. Etched upon the surface were the words 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure' which sounded like something a Ravenclaw would say. The burning pain became sharper and Harry snapped out of what he assumed was some memory of Voldemort and sat up in his bed rubbing his scar. He highly doubted that Voldemort was currently in the castle, but he began to wonder about the item.

Dumbledore had been slowly filling him in on Voldemort's youth and what had happened to him before he became the monster they were now so familiar with, and clearly this diadem was rather important to him. If it was somewhere in Hogwarts, it would make sense to discuss it with Dumbledore and see if they could perform a search to try and recover it before Voldemort was able to get it back. There was a small possibility that Voldemort had purposely instead of accidentally leaked the information, but something about that didn't seem right. He was a highly intelligent individual and if there really was a diadem why show your opponent (who currently lives in the place it's hidden) a dream of a valuable item. Even Voldemort would be hard-pressed to take Hogwarts on unless he had an army of his own. While he was certainly trying to amass one, those sorts of things took time and from what the Order of the Phoenix had been able to learn was that he wasn't there yet. Grabbing the invisibility cloak, he slipped it on and made his way to the owlery. In his pocket was a letter to Luna he'd scratched off quick as he could. The note was simple and asked if a silver diadem with a sapphire in the middle with the words 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.' etched into it meant anything to her. Little did he know, that sort of question was one years of Ravenclaws had been waiting to hear.

After Hedwig flew off towards Ravenclaw tower to get Luna the message, Harry took the quiet time in early hours of the morning before the sun came up to think about how quickly his life had changed this summer. He still cared a great deal for Ron and Hermione, but Luna had rapidly overtaken him as his closest confidant in addition to being his girlfriend. If he had to name a best friend it would be her without hesitation. She was clever, funny, and pushed him when he needed to be pushed instead of letting him slide by. Because of her he'd made more of a concerted effort in even the classes he disliked and the results showed in his grades improving. He wasn't top of the class like Hermione, but he felt much more confident in what he was doing than any other time in his life. Luna's influence helped to spur him on in becoming the sort of man he wanted to be, and words could never quite express just how valuable that was.

Simply thinking about her was enough to keep a smile on Harry's face, but he immediately sobered up as he thought about the Malfoy problem. Peeves had confirmed a suspicion that Malfoy was working on some sort of task, and if he was right the task could actually be for Voldemort. Whether it had to do with the cursed necklace Katie Bell found Harry couldn't say for sure but he was positive this sudden interest in the vanishing cabinet wasn't a coincidence. He knew for a fact there was one in Borgin and Burke's and if this one in Hogwarts was its pair there was a slim chance it could bypass the wards that had protected Hogwarts from numerous threats for so long. The Room of Requirement functioned on different rules than the rest of the castle as well, it was possible that if the user (in this case Malfoy) wanted it to allow people through just the power of the room might be enough to make that actually happen. If Voldemort or some of his followers were unleashed upon a school full of students chaos would quickly ensue and many lives would be lost. With Luna the only other person truly believing Malfoy a genuine threat, it was up to them to find a way to stop him before things got out of hand.

This was where things got sticky though, and why this where he'd been stumped for a while now in trying to foil Malfoy's plot. They had no idea how to prevent him from doing what he wanted. Aside from a few classes Harry had a different schedule than Malfoy and had to be in classes sometimes when Malfoy wasn't required to be, and Luna was in her O.W.L. year and swamped with homework she had to work on so didn't have the free time to devote to it. Their meager attempts at spying on him had amounted to a fat lot of nothing, and if not for Peeves they wouldn't even know as much as they did now. Thinking of Peeves gave him an idea though, and it hit him like a ton of bricks as he thought about all the portraits lining the halls of Hogwarts. Most if not all of them had undying loyalty to the protection of the school, and he'd wager if he said that he was asking them to spy on Malfoy to help foil a plot by Voldemort they would be more than willing to help. They were already in place and communicate any messages to almost anywhere in the castle with little effort. It was an elegant solution if he could get them on their side. Maybe Luna would have an idea on how they could do that.

As he moved to get up from where he'd been sitting Hedwig returned with another hastily scrawled message on it from Luna. Her penmanship was sloppier than usual and Harry could only assume it was because he'd woken her up from dreams of her own and had wanted to go back to bed. Reading the letter from his girlfriend, he found himself laughing. 'First of all I don't care if you're my boyfriend the next time you wake me up in the dead of night I'm hexing you to pieces. Secondly, where on earth did you hear about that? It sounds like you're describing the diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw, but as far as I know it's been lost for centuries. Tons of Ravenclaw students have tried to find it over the years but so far I know nobody has been successful in that quest. Meet me before breakfast in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom so we can talk without being overheard. Nobody likes to go in there so we should be free to say what we want. P.S. The price of waking me up is going to be taken out in a backrub once a week for a month. Xoxo Luna' There was no faking a letter like that and he knew Hedwig had delivered his letter to the intended target as always. Backrubs for a month was a price he would gladly pay, it was hardly a hardship to spend more quality time with his amazing girlfriend.

It was only on Harry's walk back to Gryffindor tower in chilly early morning air that a thought him like a ton of bricks. The scrying bowl he'd gotten from that strange shop in Ottery St. Catchpole had the power to let him see either past, present, or future events. He imagined the drop of blood was so the bowl could focus on events specifically pertaining to him considering it showed Luna an old memory of her mother and her in the treehouse. Now granted, not knowing if it was the past, present, or future could prove problematic if there were no obvious indicators but he had a hope that if he used it in the Room of Requirement it could show him something important. They already knew the vanishing cabinet Malfoy was trying to fix was in there, and for all he knew that room piled with things could be an as of yet unexplored room that the Room of Requirement contained. Either way, a small bit of blood was a price he was willing to pay if it could get him some answers. With a renewed determination, he quickened his pace as he made for his dormitory.

Once he got back to the dormitories he fetched the rune-inscribed bowl from his trunk. He then quickly changed into school robes as the sky outside was just beginning to turn that pre-dawn grey, and in case this took longer than it did for Luna he wanted to make sure he was reasonably ready for the day. He grabbed his bag containing what he needed for classes and stuffed the bowl inside before heading off towards the seventh floor and the Room of Requirement. He asked the room as he paced in front of it to take him to a place where he could be alone. The room obliged and provided him with a room that contained a chair and a small table with a single candle upon it but with nothing else. A quick incendio lit the candle and he stared into the flickering flame for a full minute, trying to let it calm his thoughts. Once he felt reasonably centered, he put the bowl on the table and took out a small knife he used to cut his quills how he liked, setting it down for a moment and taking a deep breath. "I really hope this works," Harry said aloud, even though he knew that he was alone in the room save for his own thoughts. This was a bit of a last ditch effort in all honesty and he knew that, but he felt like he was on the cusp of finally getting some answers and if this bowl could help him find them he would do what he had to do.

Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Harry then grabbed the little knife and poked it into the pad of his left thumb, holding it over the glassy liquid of the bowl. One, two, three drops of blood fell and hit the surface of the liquid, causing it to ripple. He sucked his thumb clean and put the pen aside while he looked into it. "Please, show me what I need to know. This place is important both to me and to the future of those I love, give me your insight so I can do what I must." he said quietly. He had no idea if asking for a specific direction would help, or if the bowl already sensed his intent but it felt kind of cathartic in a way to ask for help from the inanimate object. Whether it helped or not, at least he felt like he was finally doing something, and that was enough to make him smile before he got pulled into a vision abruptly.

Shadows swirled before him before resolving themselves into an image of the same room that had contained the diadem, only this time he saw a shock of blond hair standing in front of a cabinet. There was a look of relief and triumph on his face as he stepped back, and other figures began to emerge from the vanishing cabinet. In this future he seemed to have succeeded in his task, and one by one followers of Lord Voldemort began to emerge. There was one face he recognized as belonging to the werewolf Fenrir Greyback, but the others he didn't recognize. There was what looked to be a set of twins judging by their facial features and eerily similar appearance, two men with blonde hair, and one that looked to be a man with a mask and his robes up concealing his features. Draco smiled as he saw his comrades emerged, and exited the room while holding onto the Hand of Glory (Harry recognizing it from his second year excursion to Borgin and Burke's). All that he could see was a strange darkness appearing around them before the image faded.

He thought that was done, but because he'd given three drops of blood the bowl wasn't finished yet, and sucked him into another event before he knew what was happening. This time it was the Room of Requirement with the same room, but everything was burning in flames shaped like monsters. He was on a broom, (giving him the vantage point of the room from above), and he was saving Malfoy of all people from burning alive in the flames while Luna zoomed ahead of him with Goyle. Crabbe was trying to manage a broom of his own, but kept running into the debris of the rows that were collapsing as they burned. As the flames roared higher he zoomed towards a small opening out into the hallway, just making it out before his broom's twigs burned to ash. Coughing up smoke, he looked back as the flames consumed Crabbe alive. Him, Luna, Goyle, and Malfoy all made it out, though they all looked the worse for wear. Harry watched as the Room of Requirement sealed itself shut, thus preventing the flames from spreading out further into Hogwarts.

Once again he started to come out of it before he was pulled again towards another (as much as he could surmise) possible future that had to do with him in the Room of Requirement. This time he was walking down what appeared to be a tunnel that opened into the Room of Requirement that had students who looked to be preparing for a battle in addition to a few adults smattered here and there. "With or without Harry here, the fight is happening today. No doubt whatever him and Luna are doing is important and we need to give him the time he needs to do what he must." Ginny said, looking at least one year, possibly two older than she was now.

As he exited the tunnel he turned back to help Luna out and he stood there as all eyes turned to him. "Umm, hello folks. Who's ready to take out the dark wanker Lord Voldemort?" Harry asked them, showing a bit of cheek in the face of a frightening prospect to try and lighten the rather dour mood of everyone in the room. That got a few laughs, and he saw some smiles as the gave him an appreciative nod and the Weasley twins let out a whoop. "On a more serious note...Voldemort should be mortal now. He'll try to get me one-on-one in a duel most likely to prove he's better. Let him try it...Luna and I came up with a plan that I think will work. She says it will, and since she's smarter than me I've learned to take her word for it." he told her with a fond smile, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek.

Luna beamed at the compliment and the kiss, smiling at all of them with her usual dreamy stare in place. "Nothing to worry about, I'm confident we'll win today. After all, the bad guys might win a few battles here and there but the good guys always win eventually. All we have to do is stay strong, and soon we'll have a free magical Britain to rebuild even better than what it used to be. This is an opportunity for all of us to forge a brighter tomorrow." she said, smiling at all of them before turning to Ginny and handing her the pair of dirigible plum earrings back that the redhead had returned to her so long ago. "Here Ginny, you've earned these back it's high time you wear them with pride. I have mine on. The Dirigible Duo back together, Voldemort won't stand a chance." she told her old friend.

Ginny realized what the gesture meant and that the girl was willing to start anew on the path of friendship with her and a few happy tears started to spill over as she took them and put them on. "Thank you, Luna. This is amazing, you're amazing...I won't let you down." she said, wiping away her tears as a hard and cold look appeared in her eyes. It was obvious to Harry even from ten feet away that this was a Ginny who would hold no quarter or take no prisoners in the coming battle, this was a Ginny who was out for blood. The thought sent chills down his spine, and this time when he felt himself start to slip out of the possible future he actually returned to his body.

It felt like he'd been in there for ages, but it couldn't have been much more than thirty seconds or so because he still had his breath and he tried to process everything he'd learned. Pulling up from the strange scrying bowl, Harry felt his heart hammering in his chest. This may not be the incontrovertible proof he needed to get Malfoy tossed out of Hogwarts but this was definitely nothing to sniff at either. He needed to talk to Dumbledore, and explain that the bowl had successfully shown Luna a memory of something that had happened so there's no reason to distrust it showing a possible future. If they took steps to prevent it, there was a chance the could prevent a disaster. It could also change the course of events in a way that made things worse for all involved, but Harry had to try. He checked his watch, frowning. He had thirty minutes before he was supposed to meet Luna. Was that enough time to go and find Dumbledore and talk to him? Possibly, if he hurried. If anybody could figure out this sort of thing it was most definitely Albus Dumbledore.

Harry guessed different candies until he hit on the right one after about three minutes of trying different ones. Today it was 'sugar quill' that was the lucky password and the stone griffin swirled as it let him up towards the Headmaster's office. He knocked on the door three times firmly, and then waited patiently for Dumbledore to arrive. It only took him about a minute before he came to the door, already in his school robes for he day, today's robes a lovely periwinkle with silver and gold constellations adorning it. "Ah, Harry. I would imagine if you're here at this time of the morning it's rather important, come in and have a seat." he told him, his piercing blue eyes twinkling like they always did but his face remaining serious as he sensed this wasn't a mere polite call to check in on how he was faring with his health. While part of one hand was blackened from where he had tried to put on the Gaunt family ring. Snape had succeeded in slowing the progress quite well, though, and he was in no immediate danger from the curse trying to kill him.

Once Harry was seated he took a seat behind his desk and regarded him with folded hands. "Go ahead and tell me what brought you here." Dumbledore suggested, waiting to hear the details of what had happened before deciding whether or not to punish Harry for being out of bed after curfew. If it was for a good reason he might let it slide, if not he would have to do some sort of punishment because he was Headmaster of the school. Perhaps a more lenient detention with Hagrid would provide an elegant solution if it was indeed simply an unplanned walk to get some fresh air or something like that. He was well aware that a dorm room full of other smelly teenage boys wasn't exactly a place one wanted to spend long amounts of time in. There was the occasional neat student among them, but overall that was more the exception than the rule in his personal experience. That was really neither here nor there and he focused on Harry, waiting for him to explain the reason for his visit.

"To be honest, sir I think showing you something will do a lot more to explain things than me telling you. Luna and I were browsing a shop in Ottery St. Catchpole where they sold magical items when this caught my attention. According to the shop owner it's very old, and shows the past, present, or future of a location in relation to a drop of blood that's released into the bowl. Luna had tried it once before and it seemed to work, tonight I tried it myself with three drops of blood," Harry explained, pulling out the bowl and setting it on the table in front of Dumbledore. It was back to its usual clear liquid state, with the carved runes easy for him to see that were what looked to be carved or chiseled into the stone that made the bowl.

After giving Dumbledore a chance to inspect the bowl he continued on with what he needed to tell the old Headmaster of Hogwarts. "All I know for sure is that it's very old, and that it seems to work exactly as advertised. Tonight, tonight I went to the Room of Requirement and I saw three visions. From what I surmised they were all of events from the future so at this point I guess you'd say possibilities, and two of them had to do with Malfoy. Sir, if this bowl is accurate in its reading he's attempting to let Death Eaters into the castle through a vanishing cabinet whose twin is in the Borgin and Burke's shop in Knockturn Alley. The bowl...the bowl showed him succeeding," he said, stopping to let that sink in and giving Dumbledore some quiet to think things over.

After a couple minutes he stopped looking at the bowl and regarded Harry closely. He once again got the feeling he was being x-rayed but met the old man's gaze so he would know that he wasn't making this up or exaggerating anything. Harry was telling the truth, plain and simple...it just wasn't something Dumbledore liked. Harry was well aware that Dumbledore believed in justice and that judging someone based on possible futures of things that hadn't even happened was an extremely dangerous thing to do and was on shaky moral ground at best. "Harry, I believe you have the best of intentions, but I cannot arrest Draco for a crime he hasn't even committed yet. I hope you understand me and really listen when I tell you that believing in someone's innocence until they are proven guilty is of the utmost importance. Did you ever stop to consider that the bowl showing you this and you telling me is what sets Malfoy on the path to actually carrying out whatever it is you think he's trying to accomplish?" he asked, giving Harry a moment to think on that matter. He wasn't trying to tell Harry was wrong to be worried, but he needed him to realize that acting in this way could cause more harm than good. Perhaps even cause more harm than whatever terrible thing he was trying to stop to begin with.

"Maybe your distrust is what drives him to actually follow through on something he doesn't want to do. Or perhaps it's a simple case of this is something that needs to happen regardless of who does it, and the bowl sees it as a pivot point for the future that could swing things to either the good or the bad if pressure is applied correctly. Tampering with time is a fool's errand, and even though these bowls functioned properly from what I know of them there was a reason they stopped making them. It's because we aren't meant to know what's going to happen." he said calmly, hoping that this was something Harry could understand and heed his advice on the subject. Dumbledore knew he wasn't perfect, but he'd lived a long time and that gave him some perspective on this type of thing. You didn't get to be his age by messing with things like fate, or trying to go back in time to alter the course of history to suit your purposes. You could have the best of intentions and still wind up ruining things irreparably.

Hearing Dumbledore out, Harry nodded as he remembered his own experience with the time-turner in his third year and how some parts of that night they couldn't stop from happening. "I understand where you're coming from sir, believe me I do. I'm not trying to play God I just...well, I thought I should warn you in case this does happen. Maybe with some time to prepare in advance we can prevent a larger disaster from occurring." he told him, before checking his watch. He had about ten minutes left before he needed to meet Luna. "If that's all sir, I really do need to go and meet my girlfriend. We were going to talk briefly before we had our breakfast," he told him, not wanting to be rude but he did have a scheduled meeting with her he didn't want to miss.

Dumbledore let out a lighthearted laugh at the last part, it wasn't often people talked to him like that and it did him good to be reminded his opinions and concerns were no important than somebody else's. "Almost done, Harry, almost done. Two things I want to suggest. First off, I'd like you to think long and hard about the archrival relationship you have with Malfoy. He's your polar opposite in many ways and because of that you two are destined to face off. My only advice is, if you can, don't go immediately to drawing wands. See if you could talk to him and get through, I don't think he's a bad person merely somebody who has a lot of expectations from his father he feels he needs to live up to so that he can prove himself," he explained in hopes Harry could see things from Malfoy's perspective. His mother too afraid to speak out against the father, the father a follower of Voldemort who expects him to also walk that path regardless of his personal feelings on the matter. It was a tough situation for anybody.

Even though it felt like trying to swallow horrid tasting cough syrup or that skele-gro he had to use in his second year Harry nodded. He knew that there had to be some good in everybody. Nobody started off just completely rotten all the way through, at least not that he could recall. Even Voldemort had just been an orphaned child at some point, he just wasn't lucky enough to find good friends along the way like he had. "I can't promise how successful I'll be, sir but I will promise to try. Even people like Malfoy deserve the benefit of the doubt sometimes." Harry begrudgingly admitted.

"The second thing I want to say is a simple request not to use this bowl except in the direst of circumstances. This is not only extremely rare and valuable but incredibly dangerous. If Voldemort were to get his hands on something like this who knows what sort of terrible things he would use it to do. Keep it secret, and talk to no one other than Miss Lovegood or myself about its existence. Am I understood, Harry?" Dumbledore asked him, eyes locking onto his once more. "If I hear about this bowl from anybody but the two of you I will confiscate it and lock it up where it can no longer be a danger to anyone," he warned him. He didn't like playing hardball with Harry as he was so fond of the boy but this was too serious a matter to treat it as anything but an extremely serious matter. This could change people's lives, get people killed, and even allow Voldemort to have foreknowledge if he were to somehow get his hands on it. Even a Voldemort without that advantage was a nigh impossible opponent to defeat, and he shuddered to think what he could do with that sort of weapon in his arsenal.

After thinking about the well-reasoned argument Dumbledore was giving him and the trust he was placing in him by allowing him to keep the article Harry couldn't help but nod. It made sense all around in his opinion, and he knew from the little he and Hermione did that trying to tamper with time was exactly as he called it 'a fool's errand'. They had tried to change the events of one night and nearly got attacked by Dementors, because they didn't realize Harry was the person saving himself at first Dementors nearly sucked Sirius' soul from his body because they kept waiting for someone else, and even though they knew how Pettigrew escaped try as they might they could not prevent him from doing so in spite of their best efforts. Freeing Sirius was still a worthwhile endeavor they did complete, but the two of them weren't able to change nearly as much as they thought. Thinking about saving Sirius reminded him once again of his blunder in being tricked by Voldemort, and his godfather dying in the effort to rescue him from the clutches of the Death Eaters. Even when thoroughly convinced he was saving a loved one he got played by someone who was willing to exploit his love for others. Harry knew he needed to view situations from a more emotionally detached perspective so he could think clearly, it was just a difficult trick to master. More than anything it would take time to teach himself to think things through rationally, and even with Luna's helping him he thought that time was rapidly running out.

Pulling himself from his thoughts he refocused on Dumbledore. The old man was doing everything he could to help prepare him for the fight with Voldemort, including showing him private memories he'd collected that pertained to Voldemort as a young boy so he could better understand and defeat the potent threat he posed to all life in Britain. It was the least he could do to heed his advice on something as dangerous as a scrying bowl. "I think I do understand, sir. And, I must say I agree with you overall. I'll refrain from using it, but in exchange all I ask is that you take Malfoy more seriously. He is at the very least a real enough threat for him to be showing up on a scrying bowl, and I don't think that's something to take lightly. Let me know if there's any way you think of for me to try and help him, sir." he said, inclining his head before excusing himself. "Thank you for your time, but I really shouldn't keep Luna waiting any longer," he told him with a short laugh, before promptly exiting the office.

Checking his watch as he left the office, Harry decided to take some shortcuts he knew so he could get there on time. He made it on the dot but only just, and saw Luna waiting there for him. Before they started talking about serious things he leaned over and gave her a kiss before wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. "Tonight his been...well, rather more busy than most of my nights. Let me fill you in on everything before we go into the great hall." he said, and lowered his voice to a whisper as he recounted everything that had transpired. He started with the nightmare about the silver diadem with the sapphire that could possibly have been Voldemort recalling a memory of hiding something in Hogwarts, and then explained all the way through to the possible futures of Crabbe dying in the fire, Death Eaters being let into the castle, and a battle seemingly taking place at Hogwarts or nearby as a small army prepared itself in the Room of Requirement. It was a lot to take in, and by the end of it he was rather out of breath since he'd rushed through it all. Because he'd been more busy tonight he was famished and was eagerly awaiting the appearance of breakfast.

"Harry, look at me," Luna told him, putting her hand on his cheek and turning his face so he was looking her in the eyes instead of his gaze darting towards the still empty tables in the Great Hall. As of yet nobody else had arrived for lunch since they were rather early. "First off, I think you did the right thing by going to Dumbledore. He's lived a long life and usually has excellent advice. Saying all that, I disagree with him on not doing anything about the Malfoy situation. We can't see the future, but I think the scrying bowl shows the path people are currently set on unless somebody tries to change it. I've been researching them all year and am a fair hand at ancient runes, so we'll call it an educated guess on my part. I think we should have a Slytherin who's not allied with the Dark Lord spy on him, and there's two that come to mind who could pull it off." she said, a small smile appearing on her face as the gears turned rapidly in her head and she felt something click into place. The image of Luna plotting something was rather frightening, and even though it wasn't directed at him Harry felt some faint chills running down his spine at the sight of it.

They had been talking lowly, but Luna chose that moment to lean forward and actually whisper directly into his ear so nobody could read her lips if they were trying to. "Personally, I think it's time you had a conversation with Daphne Greengrass. Her family is what's called a Grey in the Wizengamot, which means they're the neutral party between the Light and the Dark. I think if you present her with a reasoned argument she might help you. She thinks Malfoy gives Slytherin a bad reputation and if all she's doing is spying and relaying information, it shouldn't betray she's helping the 'Gryffindor Golden Boy' as she calls you. But, and this is important Harry...you have to be extremely polite and respectful. She's a pureblood from a Noble family and protocols are important to her. I can teach you what you need to know to meet those requirements, and honestly you should learn it anyways because you're from an ancient and noble family yourself on your father's side." she explained, before pulling back and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Also I want you to seriously think about the fact not all Slytherins are bad. Daphne is known as the 'Ice Queen' of Hogwarts, but that's mainly because she remains aloof from most disagreements and keeps a calm exterior. I would wager she's a highly trained Occlumens, and that is what allows her to remain so calm. You of all people know how difficult that is. Also, it's possible she could help you with your Occlumency if you somehow manage to become friends. So please, please, please, don't both this up...it's such a lovely plan." she told him, patting him on the cheek before grabbing his hand. Breakfast hadn't appeared but other early risers were starting to file in and she was hungry as well.

Harry couldn't help but think about how well the House of Ravenclaw suited his girlfriend. She was smart, but it was how she weighed options that truly set her apart from a lot of the other students in that house. He'd seen a different Ravenclaw rat the DA out last year and had a nasty trap subtly set by Hermione cover her face in boils in the shape of the word Sneak. Not only that, but she had been one to believe the propaganda being fed to her by the Daily Prophet, Umbridge, and Fudge. Luna was of a much different breed of Ravenclaw, the kind who weighed their options for herself and tried to weigh the consequences before acting. He knew that she had been bullied badly, but she never let her reactions get out of hand even when it made her life difficult. Remaining calm with a 'grace under fire' sort of demeanor that she employed with her dreamy looks was something he respected greatly about her. "A Slytherin who might be able to help, that's a new one. I do realize I'm prejudiced towards them because of Malfoy, and I'd be happy to learn whatever you can teach me about the proper protocols so I don't bungle it up. Thanks for your help Luna, now let's go find our places and tuck in. I'm starving!" he said, giving her a wide smile before following her into the Great Hall.


	21. Chapter 21: Terms of Service

Chapter 21: Terms of Service

Harry had agreed to meet with Daphne, but it didn't stop the nerves from creeping in when it came time to actually go and do it. His anxiety about the whole situation was justified in his opinion. Up until now the only Slytherins he had really dealt with were Malfoy and his gang. While it only stood to reason the entire House wasn't like that, it was what he had experienced up until now. The fact she had even agreed to meet with him had surprised him, though. The least he could do was try to go into things with an open mind. Luna seemed to think she might help, and even though she often seemed like she was in another world he'd come to learn she was a pretty good judge of character. Stepping out of the common room, he headed towards Ravenclaw tower to meet up with Luna.

Since today was a Saturday he had decided to forego his Gryffindor robes in favor of jeans and a long-sleeved blue shirt. Since it was still a bit chilly in the old stone castle he had added a black jacket on top of that. It didn't take him long to get to the Ravenclaw tower and Luna was already outside waiting for him. She was bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet and smiled when she saw him. Bouncing over to him she kissed him on the cheek and grabbed his hand. The comfort from the gesture eased some of the tension in him and he squeezed her hand in a silent thank you. Without a word between them she simply began leading him down through the castle. They made it to the old third floor corridor that once upon a time housed Fluffy in a locked room, and led him to an abandoned classroom.

Luna stepped forward and knocked on the door firmly. "Daphne, it's Luna with Harry. We've come for the arranged meeting I talked to you about the other day." she said loudly.

For his part Harry was surprised she hadn't simply walked in. The girl should know they were coming, but he was following her lead on this and stayed back a couple steps. A full minute passed with no answer before the door slowly opened. To his surprise the pureblood wasn't wearing her school robes either in favor of a blue skirt with a white top that had delicate flowers of blue and silver stitched into it. She was the same height of him in flats, with her long blonde hair done up in a neat bun, and after giving Luna a smile her dark brown eyes fixed onto him. "Well, well, well...you actually showed up. Come in, and close the door behind you." she told them both, stepping back into the room. She went inside and went back to an old desk where she had apparently been working on an essay for some class in. She blotted the parchment with sand before rolling it up and putting it neatly in a bag before sitting down gracefully and waiting for her guests to get settled.

Harry looked at Luna nervously for a moment before steeling himself and walking in after her. Gryffindors forward, and all that. Luna came in last, shutting the door behind them with a resounding thud. This part of the castle was deserted, and the sound seemed to echo in the quiet that pervaded this area. Once upon a time Hogwarts was a much busier place, with more students to teach and a larger staff to accomplish that task. Daphne had set up two desks a short distance away from her own, and Harry slipped into the one on the left while Luna took the right. He waited for somebody to speak, but neither of the girls did, both simply turning to look at him like he was forgetting something obvious.

Wincing a little, Harry realized what it was. "Right, sorry...I'm Harry. It's a pleasure to meet you, Heiress Greengrass." he said, bowing his head slightly to her. He scratched his head briefly before letting out a sigh. "I'm not sure how much Luna has told you, but we have reason to believe Malfoy is trying to accomplish a task for the Death Eaters. We suspect he may have even had something to do with what happened to Katie Bell in Hogwarts. I've expressed my suspicions to the staff, but without proof...they say there's nothing they can do." he explained, cutting right to the chase. Looking at Daphne, he met her clearly intelligent brown eyes and held her gaze. "I've come to ask for your help in getting that proof." he told her bluntly.

Out of seemingly nowhere a tinkling laugh echoed in the room, coming from Daphne who quickly put a hand over her mouth and controlled it. "No beating around the bush, I see. Luna gave me an idea of what you might need, but I appreciate the specifics." she said, leaning forward and propping her elbows on the table before folding her hands and resting her chin on them as she regarded him. "Believe it or not Malfoy isn't appreciated by all of us Slytherins. If we can be rid of him once and for all you would have our gratitude. However, considering the times...this does have an inherent danger in what you're asking me to do." she said, trailing off. "What's in it for me?" she asked him.

What she said made sense, and he had been expecting she would want something in return out of this. "I have gold I'm" he began to say, before being cut off by a shushing sound from Daphne.

"I come from an old pureblood family of my own, I don't want or need your gold. Did you think I was someone you could buy, Potter?" Daphne asked, her eyes narrowing at him as an iciness entered her tone. She glanced to Luna briefly, her expression saying she expected more from someone she was so close to before she focused back on Harry. "What else do you have to offer?" she asked, making an effort to rein her tone back in to a slightly more amiable level. "Try to be a little more thoughtful this time." she added, rolling her eyes. It seemed Harry wasn't any different from other teenage boys, he could be a bit of an idiot.

Harry gulped, not really having thought about the implications of what he had tried to do. "You have my deepest apologies, Heiress Greengrass. I wasn't thinking about how that might come across." he said, before pausing as he thought. Pulling out a piece of folded up paper, he set it on the table in front of him and Luna let out an audible gasp. Pulling out his wand, he tapped it and spoke clearly enough for Daphne to hear. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." he said, smiling as the writing and artwork began to appear. He unfolded it so the full map of the castle and the dots moving on it before waving his wand again. "Wingardium Leviosa." he said, with the swish and flick. He slowly levitated the Marauder's Map over to her and set it down on her desk. This time he didn't need to say anything, the map spoke for itself and Daphne's eyes widened as she began to examine it.

She took a good five minutes muttering to herself as she examined it, but neither could fully hear what she was saying. Eventually she looked back up from the map and smiled, her teeth perfectly straight and clearly well cared for. "This certainly explains how you get around the castle so well, it's incredible. Do you know who made this?" she asked him. Daphne knew enough about the magic involved to realize whoever had done this would have been highly skilled. It was the painstaking work of long hours and complicated spells, the like of which she'd never seen before.

Clearly this had captured her interest and he smiled, letting out a chuckle of his own. Harry raised his head and looked at her with a feeling of pride in what his father had been able to accomplish. "My father and his friends made that map. You remember Professor Lupin from third year?" he asked, getting a nod from her. "He was one of them." he explained, though not specifying which of the names belonged to who. "As I'm sure you can appreciate that map is important to me, and is the only possession outside of mere gold that I have from him. My offer is this, Heiress. You may have that until you get the proof I need, it should prove useful in procuring it. Once that's done, you must give it back. When you are finished using it, tap it with your wand and say the phrase 'Mischief Managed'." he told her.

Curious to see what that would do, she did as he instructed and the map folded itself up, appearing blank once more. Daphne took a solid minute weighing things in her head, before a wicked smile appeared on her face. "This will do for part of the deal, but as it's not something permanent that I'm gaining I have another request. The room you used for Dumbledore's Army last year, teach me how to use it." she told him. "Living in Slytherin house, there's never a chance to actually relax. You never know who is spying on you or what plots might be in motion, it's taxing. Admittedly it has helped make me stronger, but everyone needs a place to escape to. Give me that, and you have yourself a deal." she explained.

Even Harry could see that admitting to some of the difficulties she had to face was like pulling teeth, but Daphne had voiced them in spite of that. He understood better than most how it felt to not be safe where you lived, having been a victim to abuse from his aunt, uncle, and cousin up until the time he came to Hogwarts. His eyes softened a little as he gave her a nod. "You have yourself a deal. Thank you, for taking the time to teach me not all Slytherins are like Malfoy. For what it's worth, you're welcome to join Luna and I whenever you like. It may not be exactly safe around me, but I could always do with another friend." he told her, making her raise an eyebrow at the gesture.

"Easy there, Potter. Allying to take down a mutual problem is one thing, being friends is another entirely. Meet me at seven tomorrow in that corridor where the room is. If you deliver on that room, I'll get to work." Daphne told him. She wanted there to be no illusion about why she was helping him, it was to benefit her as much as possible, plain and simple. Some might consider it a callous way to behave, but she considered it practical and effective. There was a reason she was considered the Ice Queen of the school, and it was because she used her head instead of letting her emotions run the show. It didn't hurt she could also stare down just about anything, but Potter hadn't done anything yet to experience that firsthand.

Nodding, Harry got up and reached over to shake her hand. She paused for a moment before taking it and he gave her a smile. "Now it's a deal. You have my word I'll deliver on that room. I'll see you tomorrow, Heiress Greengrass." he told her, before taking Luna's hand as she got up as well and together they started to leave the room. However as he began to push open the door Daphne's voice stopped him briefly.

"Harry, you've earned the right to call me Daphne. Heiress Greengrass is a bit of a mouthful to keep using if we're going to be working together on this." Daphne told him with a wink. She pocketed the map and began packing up her things, ready to leave the room herself.

The offer to use her first name was definitely one he hadn't been expecting but he appreciated it. "Daphne, it is." Harry told her, giving Luna a thumbs up as she waved to her before they left.

* * *

Deciding to get a little fresh air, they headed outside and began walking towards the black lake. It was beautiful out, with the leaves changing colors in the forest and the real feeling of fall starting to hit home with it. They found a nice grassy area that was fairly level and sat down on the grass, his arm slipping around her and holding her close. "This was a good idea, thanks for pushing me to do this." he told her quietly.

Luna turned her head so she could see him and shook her head. "Harry, I didn't push you to do anything you didn't want to. I think you've known for a while now that not all Slytherins were bad you were just afraid to admit it to yourself. It's a lot more work looking at each person on case by case basis instead of lumping them into one big group that you can write off together." she pointed out, leaning up and giving him a kiss. "I'm proud of you for going outside of your comfort zone. That's the only way you grow as a person." she explained.

It wasn't hard for Harry to see why Luna had been placed in the house of wisdom. She saw things so clearly, and even when she was unsure of how things would turn out like in the battle at the ministry she had the courage to forge ahead in spite of the fear they had all felt that night. A sad smile appeared on his face as his thoughts briefly turned to Sirius but her kiss distracted him from becoming too melancholy quick as a flash. _What did I ever do to deserve someone like her in my life? __Nothing, really...but that's the thing, everyone deserves love. You aren't really supposed to earn it, are you? _That question sent a warmth running through him along with a sense of contentment and belonging that caused a wide smile to appear on his face. "I love you so much, Luna. No matter how things turn out between us, you've helped me grow so much as a person. I don't think I can ever repay the debt I owe you." he told her seriously.

Smiling back at that, Luna placed her hand on his cheek before pushing his hair back as she moved closer to stare right into his green eyes. "I love you, too Harry. You don't owe me a damn thing, though. You gave your heart freely as I did mine, nothing else matters. Anybody who tells you otherwise is either too dumb to realize what's really important in life or selling something. Trust your instincts and you'll do just fine." she told him, wrapping her arms around him again as she gave him a big hug. After about a minute she pulled back and got up. Without another word she started walking towards the Forbidden Forest. "Come on slow poke, the thestrals need feeding." she said, as she started walking towards the place they usually were at this time of day.

There was nothing for it but to get up and follow after her. She knew she had spoken the truth as she felt it and all Harry could do was respect that. Maybe in time he wouldn't need reminding so much of the things that should be obvious. He was a slow learner, but he was learning...and he knew in the relatively short amount of time they had been together that he had made a lot of progress. "Do you have food with you or do we need to swing by the kitchens?" Harry asked after he rushed to catch up with her.

Luna looked over at him and let out a giggle before reaching over and grabbing his hand as she started skipping. He was forced to keep pace with her or be left behind so chose to skip as well. "Don't be ridiculous Harry I always carry around some food for them. Had this special pouch charmed so that it even keeps the food for them the way they like it." she explained like it was obvious. They liked meat but it wouldn't do to be carrying around a bunch of rotting meat unless you had something designed for such a purpose which she did. It was a small bag that was also enchanted to be larger on the inside so it would hold a good amount. The house elves were more than happy to help when she made a request with them to deliver a certain amount every so often. That arrangement made it easy to care for her favorite creatures here at Hogwarts.

Harry should have probably expected something like that by now but Luna always had something there to surprise him with. "Of course, silly me." he said, chuckling to himself as they quickly skipped their way to the clearing the thestrals were almost always in.

Sure enough, they found them there and Luna handed him a handful of meat before pulling some out for herself to feed them with. As usual the meat was raw since that was what they liked. Taking some, he began to toss it in a wide semi-circle on the ground in front of him. After taking a few steps back they cautiously came forward and sniffed the meat before eagerly diving in. He looked over to see Luna had taken a different approach, actually feeding them one at a time by hand. It was obvious they were quite familiar with the blonde witch and were comfortable being that close to her. Harry wasn't confident enough with them to be doing something like that any time soon, but he felt he was making a bit of progress with them. Moving forward, he carefully reached out his hand towards one. Seeing what he was doing, the rather intelligent creature moved forward and nuzzled against his hand. Harry let out a sigh of relief and looked over to Luna with a smile as he began to pet it. "This was a fantastic idea." he told her.

She reached over and petted her own once it was done feeding before looking over at her and giving him a nod. "I told you. I always have the best ideas, would think you'd know that by now." she told him. Both of them quickly ran through their supply of meat before she cleaned off her hands with a spell. When Harry asked what she had used she taught him the rather simple cleaning charm. The spell was 'tergeo' and was one most parents taught their children rather shortly after they got their wands in the wizarding world because it helped them keep the house clean if they could actually get them to use it on a regular basis. Moving to Harry's side Luna slipped her arm around his waist as they made their way back to the castle, leaning her into his shoulder as the walked.

When she moved into him Harry was more than happy to slip his arm across her shoulders and smiled. It was little things like feeding thestrals together and the simple touches that helped remind him just how much she cared for him. She made him happier than he had ever been before, and a part of that scared him. There was always a voice whispering in the back of his mind telling him this wouldn't last, that it couldn't last. Now he was simply telling that voice to sod off whenever it tried to rear its ugly head. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, but at least he was making the effort. Before they got inside the castle he stopped and turned so he was facing her. Before she could ask what he was doing he pulled her in for a long, slow kiss. By the time he pulled up for air both of them were breathless and he just shot her a wink. "Sorry, had to do that. Now we can go back in." he told her.

Luna simply beamed at him as they walked past the large doors of the entrance hall. "Oh, don't you go apologizing for that. I always want your kisses, Harry." she told him. Reaching into the bag with her school things she pulled out a copy of the Quibbler. "I think I'm going to read the latest edition of daddy's paper. If you need me I'll be in Ravenclaw tower. See you later, Harry." she asked, giving him a much shorter kiss before walking towards her house common room.

While not quite ready to call it a day yet, Harry decided to go back to his own common room and start working on his homework. Harry had begun getting in the habit of working a little bit ahead to make things easier. He didn't go quite as far as Hermione did but he found himself much more prepared for each of his classes this year than he had in previous ones. Now that he wasn't spending as much time with Ron he'd started to develop better study habits and was proud of the changes he'd made in that area. Taking out his transfiguration book, parchment, ink, and quill, Harry began the long arduous process of keeping up with his newt classes.

A/N: So sorry about the long break between updates. Switched jobs so life has been a bit hectic but starting to settle back into my routine. I have not forgotten this story I swear!


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